A Calm Tide
by JuMoFi of the March Hare
Summary: Misuzu Kasumi has always had a fear of the ocean ever since she was a little girl, but returning to Iwatobi means that she has to cast it aside. With help from friends alike and a water-loving swimmer, she may learn how to be the best she can be and accomplish anything she sets her mind to.
1. Misuzu Kasumi

_(J.I.C.) Disclaimer: I don't own Free! or its characters. I only own my OCs._

_A/N: __***11/13/16 update.** Because I am working on SWaS, another fic of Free!, I am going to let this story go on hiatus for a bit. Please also note that the story will be thoroughly plotted, edited, and trimmed when I come back to this story, so anything you read from here on to the latest chapter may not be the same. If you want to get any updates, please click on my profile link. Thank you for your patience and I'll be seeing you soon! :D_

Chapter One:

Eleven years ago, I was anxious for the summer when Mom, Dad, and I planned to go to the beach together. The shores were close to home yet still a ways out. It was my first trip ever and I eagerly awaited the cool water splashing on my legs, the heat on my back, and best of all, meeting my best friend there. As soon as my parents parked the car I raced down to the shoreline. I took in all of it at once, breathing in and tasting the sea salt-y air and watching the foam dissipate at my feet.

I went off to play with my friend while my parents watched from our spot on the sand. There were other kids' who joined us, but there names have ever since faded from my memory. I remember that all of us made sandcastles and chased each other up and down the beach until we were out of breath. One of them suggested we go swimming and everyone but me jumped into the water. I didn't know how to swim at the time so I quietly sat back and watched the others. After a while they kept begging me to get in. I figured that if I were with them, it'd be safe, and went in after them.

That day I learned that the ocean wasn't to be underestimated. I dared myself to swim out more, and a current pushed me under. As a tiny child I couldn't fight the water no matter how much I tried. My friends' screams were muffled under the water as I sunk to the bottom. On the inside I cried for help, wanting to wave my arms and catch my parents attention, but I had no more strength left. I could only look up at the gleam of the waves in the sunlight.

If it weren't for him that day I wouldn't be alive. The boy that I desperately try to remember now saved me and disappeared out of my life in a flash. He was like a part of the water; graceful, calm, and sure of himself.

He was my hero...If only I had the chance to thank him.

* * *

"Kasumi! Come down for breakfast!" my mother called from downstairs.

"U..Uh, coming!" I answered.

I looked back in my mirror for one last routine check. My uniform was buttoned, laced, and prepped for my first day at high school. It was a week or so after moving back, and years since I'd last been here. Iwatobi was still the same, a small town that was mostly quiet and friendly. I had hoped that I'd be able to see familiar faces among them all.

"Go get 'em, Kasumi! Fight-o!" I told my reflection.

I marched downstairs determined to brave the new day. Mother was in the kitchen washing dishes when I came in. She heard me and turned around.

"Oh, there you are! Your breakfast is on the table for you, Kasumi."

"Thank you, Mom."

Her egg omelets were always best fresh. I sat down and slowly ate while my stomach churned with anxiety. School was going to start in less than a half-hour, and there were going to be so many people at school...I had to clear my thoughts if I didn't want to panic. _Oh, but so much was happening..._

As I cut another piece of egg off, Mother sat next to me at the table. She looked over at me and then to the empty seat on my other side.

"It's such a shame that Papa had to go into work early today. If only he could see you off, too."

"Mhmm..But it's okay. Papa has more important things to do so it's okay."

"Oh, you're just so sweet!"

I smiled back at her and finished the omelette. When my eyes darted to the clock, I nearly dropped my plate. I had five minutes to get to the train to make it on time.

"Gotta go! Love you!"

"Oh, but Kasumi-"

I had already stumbled into the sunlit hallway to the door while trying to tug my socks up my legs. Mother followed me with my "bento" _(lunchbox)_ in her hands, trying to tell me that I almost forgot it. Running out the door, I quickly thanked her and tripped as I fixed my shoes.

Luckily I had caught the train on time and got to school with everyone else. My new homeroom teacher, a short woman with a brown bob and a yellow cardigan, waited for me in the teacher's office until I arrived. She took me upstairs to the classroom, introducing herself as Ama-sensei, and talked to me about my new classes. I did my best to answer her but my heart kept beating at such a fast pace. Every time we took another step forward I felt myself slowly sinking down to the floor. I could only think to myself, _If only someone could snap me out of this-_

"Wait!"

Both my teacher and I jumped out of our skins. We turned to the bottom of the stairs where another girl was crouched over, catching her breath. She looked up and asked, "Are you...Ama-sensei?"

My teacher stuttered, "U-uh, yes..I am. A-are you another stu-student?"

"Yes, "the girl answered as she stood up, "I'm Samantha Mueller. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

_Is she..American? _Her accent was the most noticeable of all. But when I looked closely, Mueller-san had a foreign yet charming look about her. She was much taller than me, with shiny, sandy-colored hair and hazel, round eyes, not to mention a larger build than our own teacher. I looked down at myself to compare; next to her I looked like a elementary student.

I turned away as Ama-sensei invited Mueller-san along with us to our classroom. For a moment everything was fine, but then I started hearing people chatting inside the classrooms in the hallway and my head started to spin. The thought of new faces staring directly at me, watching as I stepped up to the front of the class to introduce myself...My palms felt clammy in clenched fists, and the hall became hot and humid in my uniform coat. There was a loud pumping sound all around me. I was spooked at first, but then I realized that it was my own heart beating rapidly in my ears.

Trying to take deep breaths was beyond helping me at that point. All the thoughts in my head were either deteriorating or jumping from wall to wall in my head. _Please, you've gotta calm down! Whatever you do, don't panic! Take a deep breath and calm yourself!_

"Misuzu-san, isn't it?" the other girl asked me.

I looked up at her, finding the two of us waiting outside for Ama-sensei to call us in. How I could've blacked out while walking to class, I'd never know, but with a deep breath I cleared my head and answered, " Um..yes?"

She gently smiled at me. "I'm Samantha. You can call me Sam, if you'd like.

"So, you're a new student, too? Where'd you move from?"

"Uh...Wakayama..."

Again, she smiled. My heart became calm while she built more of a conversation with me. I was at ease to talk to her that I found myself smiling when she mentioned manga to me that she knew about.

In the middle of our chat, Ama-sensei called for us to enter the classroom.

_Oh no!, _I internally screamed.

I kept my head down as I headed in first. The classroom grew silent as I entered. I could feel all of their eyes on me...I shivered at the sudden thought of them when my eyes would meet theirs. The reality of it made my heart sink as I stepped up to the front. Samantha-san didn't seem as scared of it as I was, but she was a lot stronger than me, from the way she carried herself to the pretty twinkle in her eyes.

Samantha-san turned back to the door to look for something. I watched as she peered outside from left to right, and our teacher noticed it as well.

"Um, Ms. Samantha, is there something outside?"

"Uh..."

She turned back to Ama-sensei and said, " I can't find the doorknob..."

The class erupted in confused mutters, and Ama-sensei, having been baffled, exclaimed, "Eh?!"

Samantha-san turned back to the door replying, "It's weird that-oh..."

She slid it out from behind to close it. Our classmates burst out laughing as she bowed to the teacher apologetically.

"I'm so sorry. I'm used to western-style doors that I forgot it was different at school here!"

Ama-sensei sighed in relief. It was, for the moment, as though she believed Samantha-san when she said the door happened to "vanish", but then pushed it aside to start class. She looked at me and asked if I could introduce myself. I nodded slightly, feeling my heartbeat intensify once again. As I looked up at the class, I saw a boy my age staring carelessly out the window. His short, indigo hair reminded me of that other boy, the one from years ago...

"Ms. Misuzu?"

"I...I'm..Misuzu Kasumi. It is nice to meet you, " I found myself saying to the class.

I kept my head down as our teacher asked Samantha-san to do the same.

She bowed just the same as I had, smiling at the rest of our classmates. "I am Samantha Mueller. It is nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along this year!"

Our teacher then let us help ourselves to a seat while writing our names on the board. Samantha-san took no time to find one. She immediately walked towards the empty seat at the end of the third row in a graceful manner as I slowly made my way to the seat on her right.

Everyone else turned back to Ama-sensei once the introductions were over. As the class continued I noticed my name written in one corner of the board. It reminded me of how my friend Nanami used to write...

_I wonder where Nanami is now...is she still here in Iwatobi? _I wondered as literature class began.

* * *

"Misuzu-san?" someone asked me.

I looked up to find Samantha-san standing next to my desk with a brown paper bag. _Oh, it's already lunchtime._

"I was wondering if you'd like to eat on the roof with me."

"Th-the roof?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to do that like in the anime."

"O-oh..."

"Hm? Haven't you been able to do that before?"

"I...I don't think I have."

She gasped out loud.

"Then we're gonna fix that. C'mon!"

Samantha-san waved her hand at me for me to get up. Out of mere impulse and befuddlement I followed her out of the classroom. Every now and then she'd turn back and keep encouraging me to follow her, which then I saw a certain eagerness about her like an impatient child. She was nearly bouncing up and down like one, motioning me further towards her.

"Let's go! It's supposed to be beautiful weather out right now!"

"Uh..umm..."

I slowly put my hand in hers. At first I thought that she'd drag me with a super human force, but she grinned and gently led me up the staircase. I stared at her for what seemed to be the longest time...her hand was so soft and warm..and she didn't seem afraid of being in a new setting, probably in a new country she hadn't been to before. Samantha-san was too taken by silly anime references and the spring weather.

"Oh my God, look at the view!" she exclaimed.

On the roof it was warm with the sun reflecting off the bright concrete. It looked like an ordinary rooftop to me, but somehow mesmerizing to Samantha-san. She spun around and said, "Isn't it wonderful, Misuzu-san?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by someone else.

" 'Misuzu-san' ? As in, 'Misuzu Kasumi' ?"

A girl with red hair pulled into a ponytail stood up, her friend seated by the doorway with her bento open.

"'Gou-san'?"

"'Kou'! You still don't remember?"

"Oh no, I do! But..uh..you were close with Nanami, too, then?"

"Just as much as you!"

She put on a confident smile at that statement, just as she had done when we were little. Kou-san invited both of us to join her and her friend. I sat down with Kou-san as Samantha-san walked up to us hesitantly.

"'Mueller-san', right? You are from America?"

"Um, yeah.."

She folded her skirt under her before taking a seat next to me. Kou-san and her friend scooted in towards the circle with anticipation. According to my memory Kou-san was always talking about visiting different countries and swimsuits, which explained why someone from America could certainly pique her childhood interest. Kou-san asked my classmate a series of questions, ones of her hometown to what the newest film was. Of course, Samantha-san lit up in excitement as she answered, but there was something off about her expression before she smiled. It almost seemed sad, or depressed,...I could only guess that she was homesick deep down.

"The newest movie I've seen lately was The Host, but I didn't get to see it right away. You see, I-ouch!" she yipped.

While telling the story of her going to the movies she reached over to grab her lunch bag. Two of our classmates walked past us, the tallest one accidentally stepped on both her hand and lunch. He stopped beside her to apologize.

" 'Daijoubu-' _(Are you okay)_" he started to ask.

Both of them looked into each other's eyes, taking an abrupt pause on whatever they were going to say. It was only for a moment, and then Samantha-san turned her head. If it were a romantic "first glance", then it seemed like she looked away out of fear. But she was directing her attention to her hand sitting on top of her smothered lunch, so that left anything heartwarming out of the question.

"I'm fine, really, "she shyly admitted, "however..."

Something wet had seeped through the bag. I reached into my pocket for my handkerchief, but the boy had his out already.

"Oh, I-I.."

"Here. It's alright. You can take it, " he told her in a soothing voice.

She gingerly reached out and took it. He smiled as she wiped her hand clean. I felt as though I was being too nosy by watching and looked away-and soon realized I had met another's glance. The boy from the classroom, the one I first spotted during homeroom, stared at me with a nonchalant expression on his face, sitting by the ledge with a friend.

"Kasumi-san?" Kou-san asked.

I noticed myself staring once he had turned away. My face grew red in embarrassment and I quickly turned to hide my shame. My heart was beating excitedly again, although that time it wasn't out of anxiety.

The other boy, Tachibana Makoto, as Kou-san had explained, offered to buy Samantha-san another lunch from the cafeteria. Both of them left while his two friends leaned over the ledge as they ate. I tried to pay attention to my friend and eat at the same time, but the mysterious boy's presence was so overwhelming that I felt I had to sneak another peak at him. The coincidence of him being the same boy from before was almost impossible, though, maybe...

As though Samantha-san's incident wasn't enough, there came another girl bounding up the stairs and towards Tachibana's friends.

"Oi! 'Shota' !" she yelled as her finger pointed at the short, blond guy.

He turned around with two school-lunch breads in each hand. After swallowing his food he then exclaimed, "Oh, that girl from class!"

"Yeah, that's right! And you're the one who took my sweet bread!"

"Huh?"

"I wanted one of those breads and you took the last two!"

"Oh..sorry..."

She grumbled to herself as she glared at him. The girl had no choice but to give up, flicking her long ponytail in frustration.

_Wait a minute...She's..._I thought to myself.

I walked up to her without hesitation. The closer I got, the more I recognized the blonde in her partially dyed dark brown hair in a long tail. Her voice and hair were the same, but the personality had gotten much wilder. But it still was-

" 'Takemono...Ella' ?"

She turned to me saying, "Who's aski-"

Ella-san gasped when she saw me. She grabbed my hands and exclaimed, "Kasumi! It's so good to finally see a familiar face!"

"I know, it's been-"

"A couple years. You've gotten taller..."

I smiled even though that was an empty comment (There's no way that I've grown in the last couple of years..). But it truly was Ella.

We met so many years ago when her father and mine got together for a few days to talk about business. As far as I knew they worked for a local industry, and his family was as small as mine. Ella's mother was newly pregnant at the time, so I figured that Ella had a sibling or two by then.

"Um..You remember Kou-san, 'neh' ?"

She gasped again and looked over my head to our corner. Kou-san waved at her then turned to her other friend. Ella-san made her way to the others as I turned to this "shota" and the mysterious boy. I bowed, then replied, "Please forgive her. She means well, but comes off a different way."

"Ah, no problem!" the blond boy told me.

When I looked up I caught the other boy's glance once more. My cheeks grew red like before and my palms clammy. I quickly bowed for a second time and escaped with my life.

By the time I sat down, Samantha-san came back with melon bread and a water bottle. She smiled at Tachibana-kun, thanking him for the food. He smiled back and walked away. Suddenly she turned to Kou-san and replied, "Do you guys know him?"

"Know him? That's 'Tachibana Makoto'-kun! Everyone knows him as the 'nicest boy on the planet'. And his shoulders..."

Kou-san trailed off as her eyes peered up at the sky in wonder. She giggled to herself in a sort of odd way.

"Kou-san, are you alright?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry about her. She...has her moments like this," her friend replied.

_Moments? Does she have an illness of some sort? _I wondered.

Kou-san continued to daydream for the rest of the lunch period while her friend tried to snap her out of it, and Samantha and Ella-san had conversations in English. This first day back wasn't as scary as I had imagined, but I could tell it would be as energetic in the near future.

* * *

At the end of the day, I went up to Samantha-san and asked her if she were riding the train home.

"No, I'm sorry. I live nearby in town. Are you farther out?"

I nodded, feeling a bit left out with the other students leaving together.

"Hey, I'll walk you to the station. I've wanted to see more of the town, anyway."

I smiled at her and waited for her to pack her bag. We left not too soon after the last of our classmates. Samantha-san and I continued our conversation about manga from earlier outside to the station. It was easing to think about something else besides having the stress of my first day take a toll on me, but then I turned to the front of the street and saw Tachibana-kun and his friend. The other boy was just as expressionless as ever while Tachibana-kun continued to talk to him with a happy smile on his lips. I tried not to speak as loud so that his friend wouldn't notice me. _If he saw me again, would he think that I was following him?_

At the station I quickly said goodbye in a rush. The train was about to set off, the bell signaling its departure, when I ran up to the door in a panicked frenzy. Just when I would've missed it I jumped off the platform, holding my hand out to grab onto something inside. I didn't see who, but someone was able to catch me and pulled me into the car in time. When my foot scraped the floor, I fell into their arms face first. I was crushed into their arms like...like a couple embracing.

_The shame...the shame of it...in public! I should be ashamed! I have to apologize!_

"Are you okay?" the person asked me.

I quickly jumped back from them and bowed too many times to count.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I-I!"

My heart dropped to my stomach when I looked up. A stranger, a kind one, might have let me off at that, but fate had to bring the mysterious boy to save me from missing the train. And above all...my face...i-it touched his chest...

I grabbed onto one of the train poles and took a step back. The boy, still expressionless, looked at me and asked again if I were alright.

"I-I-I-I-I'm al-alright. I'm-I'm fine!"

He stood back from me as if my response had scared him away. I tried to clear the trouble up by swallowing my fear.

"I mean...I'm very sorry to have touched you. Please forgive me."

" 'Iie' _(No)_. Don't worry about it..."

The boy looked away from me again and out the window. I hung onto the pole, quietly looking back and forth at him. Our conversation, however it may have been, only lasted for a brief moment, and silence between us had started to make me wonder. _Was I too abrupt? Have I crossed a line of some sort? Should I say something to him?_

Suddenly he turned to me and asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Uh..uh..I wouldn't know. I just moved back here, so..we might have seen each other..in town?"

"Yeah..."

Our conversation dropped until we reached the second train station. Both of us tried to walk out at the same time, which almost led to me falling out after him. But the walk home was even more dreadful. I followed behind him to the square where the old lady swept away dirt from the side of her house. Down the road from her was my house, but the boy continued up the stairs. I quickly gathered some of my little courage and told him, " 'Ano' _(Umm)_, thank you again. For helping me onto the train."

"Dont' worry about it...

"What's your name?"

"Eh?"

"Your name?"

I worried my lower lip with my teeth as I gathered more courage. "M-Misuzu Kasumi...and...yours?"

"Nanase. Haruka."

I bowed to him again and replied, " 'Arigato' _(Thank you)_, Nanase-kun."

"Mm..."

He slowly nodded, then walked away. Once he was gone, I turned the corner and ran down the road. All of my energy had burst inside me that I couldn't help this feeling of...what was it? Excitement? Fear? Embarrassment? How could I even start to describe it...?

When I came home, Mother waited for me at the door. But I couldn't stop myself there. I ran right past her and up the stairs as she asked me how my day was. I made it to my room where I jumped up and landed onto my bed, wriggling around in the sheets and hiding my flushed cheeks in my pillow. The indescribable feeling was still twisting around in me, and I couldn't figure out why I was feeling it. It suddenly ambushed me when I heard his name. _Nanase Haruka...why did it give me deja vu..?_

* * *

I had calmed down by the evening and sat at the kitchen table with Mother. I had to explain myself to her that I did have a good day at school, but was still flustered by it. She was content with that answer but still insisted on asking me if I were feeling

Later, when I sat on my bed and read a light novel, I looked out my window and stared out into the open. The nearby harbor water glimmered from the stars' twinkling reflection, seeming to call out to me like it had those past few nights. Every night it reminded me about that day almost as if it wanted me to suffer that painful memory. I was sure it would drive me mad.

That is...until I saw "his" face in school. To me he was like the ocean itself: he was terrifying with that stoic expression of his, like he were either judging me or looking right past me, like I wasn't important enough for his attention. Yet his clear blue eyes didn't match. They were welcoming and calming like ocean water. His mysterious aura about him confused me even more, and I found myself somewhat relieved that he was focusing his gaze elsewhere instead of in front of him.

_But..._

"Can he really be that boy from before?" I asked myself out loud.

I fell asleep thinking about that possibility. But I couldn't remember if I came to any conclusion...

_Oh, well..._


	2. A New Club

Chapter Two:

"Good morning, Misuzu-san."

It was the second day of school when I turned around to the person greeting me. Before noticing them I was casually walking down *'Takesou', mesmerized by the view of the port and the look-out point on the hill. The people beside me, waiting for a response were Tachibana-kun and Nanase-kun. But Tachibana-kun was the one paying attention to me.

" 'O-Ohayo gozaimasu' _(Good morning)_ ," I said.

Tachibana-kun smiled at me. Nanase-kun stared at the road ahead.

"So, Misuzu-san, how has it been for you moving in?"

"I-It's alright. Nothing is out of sorts since we started school."

"Ah, that's good.

"I heard that you have lived here before. Is that true?"

"Ah, 'mm'. Only until my father had business in another town...some years ago."

"Oh, then we might have seen each other before!"

"We might have, yes," I said, feeling a bit more cheerful with his smile.

Then Nanase-kun looked at me. I froze on the spot at the same time that Tachibana-kun asked me where I went to school.

"I-I th-think it was Iwatobi Elemen-mentary, or somewhere close by..?"

"Oh. Then you might have gone to the swim school, no?"

My mind flicked back to an image of a pool. I didn't have any issues with one, but the thought of swimming wasn't helping my situation. My palms felt clammy once again and my mouth ran dry. I looked down.

"Misuzu-san?"

"I..I don't think so," I said, my eyes diverted from them, "no."

On a whim I came up with an excuse to leave. Tachibana-kun called out to me, but I had already darted down the street and around a few corners before he could finish his sentence. I squeezed my eyes shut and cursed in my head, _Darn it, Kasumi! Why can't you buck up for once! What's wrong with you?!_

I took a deep breath when I made it to the street corner of the school, realizing it was hopeless to fight myself in the early morning, and quietly walked down the sidewalk.

At the school gate, I heard someone call out my name from behind. Mueller-san waved at me and crossed the street.

"Mu-Mueller-san!"

She walked up to me with a perfect smile, carrying herself so gracefully that she seemed to glide. _Mueller-san was so pretty..._

"Misuzu-san, is somethin' wrong?"

"No, I'm just so pitiful compared to you is all," I whimpered.

"Huh? 'Pitiful'? Did someone make fun of you? Did someone touch you on the train?"

"Eh?!"

Everyone else on the sidewalk was startled by the two of us. They stared, making me fluster for a response to save me from the shameful display.

"Oh! C'mon! Misuzu-san! Let's talk in private!"

She took my hand and rushed us to the school gates and behind one of the sakura trees. Mueller-san looked around, sighed, and then asked again if there was something wrong. I would've answered if Ella-san hadn't caught us.

"_Yo! Wazz-up!_" she teased.

"Misuzu-san may have been touched on the train!" Mueller-san said in English.

"Wait, like bump 'touched' or illegally 'touched'?"

"Illegal."

Ella-chan gasped.

"Misuzu-chan! Who touched you?!"

"N-"

"It's okay, hon'," Mueller-san encouraged, "You can tell us."

"No one-"

"We'll have to call the police, y'know," Ella-chan said.

"Oh, phooey! If this pervert is out there now, then we can get 'em ourselves!"

"Nah, who knows who this person is. If it were some wimp, then I say 'hell, yeah let's get 'em'!"

" 'Ano' _('Umm')_.."

"What if they have a weapon on 'em?"

"You're talkin' to a girl who's lived in the US! Where I'm from I've seen my daddy use different guns while deer huntin' so many times that I'd know how to take apart that gun in less than ten seconds!"

"Ano!" I shouted.

Both of them looked to me. So did anyone else who was outside.

"No one touched me. I never even got onto the train this morning...I'm sorry if there was some sort of misunderstanding.."

Mueller-san sighed out of relief and replied, "Oh, thank the Lord! You had me worried!"

"Misuzu-chan, don't scare us like that!"

I had to suck in my breath through my teeth to keep from responding.

The bell rang before any of us could react. Ella-chan ran off in a hurry with a quick farewell of, "I can't be late again!". Mueller-san grabbed my hand and dashed after her. There weren't as many people at the shoe lockers, and none when we climbed up the stairs. We only made it up to the middle step until I tripped and fell over. I could have easily gotten up but Mueller-san picked me up off my feet and over her shoulder.

"Hold on, I'mma get us there, " she told me.

" 'M-M-M-Ma-Ma-Mate-' _('W-W-Wait-)_"

"I ain't quittin' on ya!"

She bounded up the steps and down our hall without listening to me. I bit my lip as I imagined Amakata-sensei's expression and the laughter coming from our class. The humiliation...the tauntings...I'd never hear the end of it. I almost fought Samantha-san about it, but

Samantha-san chose the door at the end of the classroom once we made it up the stairs. First came the sound of the door opening, then shutting, and I suddenly found myself sitting in my chair. Mueller-san sat in her chair, and I turned to her with a baffled look on my face. When she looked at me through the corner of her eye, she winked, smiling ever-so-slightly. From that I took it as a sign saying,_ No one caught us, so let's pretend we got in on time!_ All I did was nod my head, but shivered at the thought of how an American girl could be so strong, and then compared that to what an American man must be like. That didn't help with my studies, but it did give me some confidence to try harder in gym from that point on...

While we were in our morning classes, Mueller-san turned out to be the most talented and smartest one among us. She seemed to fly right through the calculus questions and blew away our gym teachers. Amakata-sensei knew better than to ask her to read a loud an English text from our books, but Mueller-san offered to help every now and then. Not everyone was anticipating that, considering that it wasn't socially accepting to give advice to our teacher during class. I knew, personally, that she was trying her best, but from the whispers from our classmates there were others who probably thought that she was trying too hard, or that she was trying to show off. Thankfully, our teacher understood her intentions. Other than that, the rest not talking about Mueller-san seemed to like her. And I felt that I had the same admiration as the rest of them.

* * *

"So, what's the 4-1-1 from last night, Matsuoka-san?" Mueller-san asked at lunch.

Everyone from yesterday was sitting together again, the boys in the far corner from us. It felt nice to eat with friends, even though I felt eyes burning into the back of my head. I'd turn around from time to time to catch Nanase-kun looking my way. He must have been thinking about what I said that morning. Which, of course, could sound fishy to someone else with all of my babbling and running away on the conversation.

_Why am I so self-conscious of myself when I'm near boys? I spend time with my father and I haven't freaked out like this before..._I wondered while popping a roll into my mouth from my lunch.

"Eh? W-What do you mean?"

"Oh, c'mon now. I can tell something is bugging you by that look on your face. Did something happen?"

Kou-san sighed and confessed, "I..I sent a text to my brother to see if he had met with his friends Hazuki-kun, Tachibana-kun, and Nanase-kun at the old swim school. But he hasn't responded back."

"Wait! You mean to tell me that your brother was the red-head from the other night?!"

"Eh? You've seen 'Onii-chan'?"

"Ah, well..yeah.."

As Mueller-san had described it, she met the other boys last night at the old swim school building under the impression that there were hooligans up to no good. But she found them by the pool, as she put it, "rippin' off their clothes like it was too dang hot for the weather." She shook her head and replied, "I don't know what goes on in people's' head nowadays...

"Oh, y'know what the darndest thing was? I shouted out loud to myself as they were gettin' naked! I mean, I didn't know what was going on until they were stripped down in their swim trunks!"

"What?! Did they get to swim?"

Mueller-san stopped for a second and looked at Kou-san with an expression implying, _Of all things, that's what you're concerned about?._

She mumbled, "Well, wasn't expectin' that from ya'..

"Uh-no. There wasn't any water in the pool, so they left. That's when I came into the scene. And 'dadgum', did all of us get into trouble!"

"Eh?!" I exclaimed, "You too, Mueller-san?!"

"Sure did! And I was the one who tried shooin' them off!"

I couldn't believe that she had gotten into trouble, but she oddly seemed okay with it. If she were to be living with parents like mine I would know that it wouldn't be as comfortable to talk about. Then again, I had no idea what her home life was like...

My imagination got the best of me during the afternoon. I thought about Mueller-san sneaking into the old building, finding the boys "doing something weird", and her watching in a corner. It was punishable to sneak onto construction sites, but stripping in front of a woman-

_Nanase-kun...stripping..._

"Misuzu-san?"

"H-Hai!"

I looked up at Mueller-san as the class left. She furrowed her brow at me.

"You feeling okay?"

"U-Uh, yes. I'm just tired. Do you mind if I go on ahead?"

"No, you go on. I'm just gonna talk with Matsuoka-san before leaving."

"O..Okay."

I hurried out of the classroom so she wouldn't see my flustered face. This wasn't like me to think about boys like that, and now my heart couldn't stop racing. _Why was I getting upset over this? Was I sick?_

Thankfully I hadn't run into Tachibana-kun and Nanase-kun as I was walking home. If I'd seen any of them I wouldn't have been able to function. To calm my rampant mind, I visited the Arasuna shrine close to my house. After slipping a dollar yen into the coin box I clapped my hands and prayed that I could focus more on my studies and not on...things like shirtless boys...Hopefully the 'okami' would be able to hear my prayer.

* * *

At home I laid in bed until dinner, working on homework ever so often and stared out of my window the rest of the time. Mother was concerned that my health was the issue but I had to deny that. I didn't feel sick, yet I was flushed in the cheeks. I wouldn't take a day off of school just because of that..so what could I do?

With little distraction I finished my homework after eating so I could read my novel with my favorite pillow at my head. Everything seemed pleasant with just my book and I until I reached the last page. It was a shame that I couldn't get anymore comfortable...My clock read 8 o'clock. I still had more time.

_Should I open up that box? It's the last one I have to put away, and yet I promised myself I wouldn't open it ever again...Should I? Shouldn't I? _I asked myself internally.

I looked at the cover of my book and asked the main character, "What would you do, Aino-san?"

With my pillow in hand I crawled towards the unopened box next to my desk. The packing tape was already cut, but I left it unopened the first day we got here on a whim that I could put aside my junior high school hobby. My one weakness that I despised and loved about myself...

I quickly opened the flaps of the box and looked right at the contents...my old manga collection. All of them staring up at me with flashy colors and large titles. I dared myself to lean over and pick one up. But when I did, I couldn't help but open it. Then read it. Then finish it. And grab another.

"Omigosh I'm still not over this! But shounen is my favorite," I argued with myself.

"Agh! Where can I hide these?!"

"Honey, is everything alright in there?" my mother asked from the other side of the door.

"Ah-uh-uh, n-nothing! Just putting away some stuff!"

I heard her footsteps fade away as she left, and so I turned back to the box. The manga definitely needed to go...but I looked at my book and bit my lip. It would be hard to get rid of them just like that, yet I couldn't keep them. My goal was to make a new image of myself and come out of my shell to make friends. And nowadays it wasn't cool to read manga. People would call me a 'chuunibyou'...and being picked on wasn't something I wanted again in my new high school.

Later on that night I gave up and finally went to sleep. The box was still in the corner teasing me until I had to go to school the next morning. I frowned at it, arranging to ask Mueller-san if she wanted them at lunchtime. I knew I could trust her with them, and she wouldn't take it any other way than someone else. She told me that she was interested in them, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to mention them to her...

* * *

"Eh? A swim club?" I asked Hazuki-kun.

At lunch the next day, both boys and girls got together for something that Hazuki-kun had announced. All of us got closer to see him pull out a club application form from his bag.

"Uh-huh! Then if we submit this form, they'll definitely let us start one!"

"It's no promise that they'd approve, Nagisa," Tachibana-kun reassured him.

"Well, yeah, but..we have enough members! Mako-chan, you can be the captain!"

"Shouldn't it be Haru? He's the fastest swimmer."

"It isn't about speed. Different people are better at different things."

"Nanase-kun as the captain, huh?" Mueller-san spoke up.

"Well...who knows," replied Ella-chan.

Every one of us tried to imagine Nanase-kun as the captain. He'd be a take-action man that'd have to plan things even at the last minute, determined-

"I don't think so."

"Nope."

"That isn't Nanase-kun, no."

"That makes Mako-chan as captain then. And Haru-chan as vice!"

"Hey, don't just volunteer me."

The boys were discussing Nanase-kun as vice captain when Mueller-san and Ella-chan went off into their own conversation. I looked over at them, only hearing, "So what about..." and, "Do you think she'll be okay with that?"

"Who is to be okay with something?" I said.

"Oh, Misuzu-san!"

"Hey, listen to this," Ella-chan told me with a wave of her hand, "if they're startin' a club then we want to make a girl's team too."

"Eh? Is that even allowed?"

"It should be. All we need to do is assign schedules of who's using the pool when. And who uses which locker rooms first. After that there shouldn't be any problems."

"Yeah, plus, if we join a club it'll look nice on our school forms, and we'll get recognized."

"So, Misuzu-san, do you want to sign up for the swim club with us?"

Both of them smiled at me as though they were tempting me. Water and I didn't mix well together, let alone swimming in it.

_There...there is no way! __But they were expecting me to join! If I said "yes", then I'd be able to get closer to them. We'd be able to go out to places together. And there may be more people who'd join! _I argued with myself.

While I was scared of the water I wanted more than anything to beat my fear and make friends...

"Misuzu-san?"

"Uh..ummm.."

I couldn't say anything. I mean, I wanted to say "yes", but I also wanted to say "no". Yet nothing could come out of my mouth.

Mueller-san looked at me and said, "Tell you what, how about you think on it and let us know later?'

"Yeah," Ella-chan added, "and don't feel obligated to say yes, okay? It's all up to ya'!"

I nodded, but on the inside I felt as though I let them down by not saying something...

* * *

For the next few days Ella-chan and Mueller-san were busy with the club. They were able to get both boys' and girls' team approved, but they had to clean up the pool to use it, as they told me one day where they had a free lunch. There was one day where a pretty first-year sat across from me on the roof, but the feeling of dead silence just made it awkward between us. She still sat with me up there after that one day, but I felt left out when I ate lunch without the others for the next few days, and when I walked back home by the beach side. Without someone to talk to the week was just bland.

That was until one afternoon the next week when the lunch bell rang. My friends had already left to get together at the pool, as usual, and I decided to wander around for a new place to eat outside. I took out my bento and quietly left the classroom as the rest inside were chatting away. There were only a few upperclassmen roaming the halls, and one or two 'kouhai' 's exploring, the rest outside watching baseball practice and buying lunch. It was a nice day to sit in the grass with a great view under the shade of a sakura tree. I wondered where the closest one was. I only knew the one by the main gate and then some near the border of the property, but there had to be some close to the doors so I could get to class quickly.

As my thoughts trailed on, I stumbled across what looked to be Nanase-kun standing by the club poster board. He heard me coming closer, and then suddenly he jumped right in front of me with a threatening expression etched on his face.

"Here," he said as he dangled a school mascot key chain in my face, "I'll give you this. Now join the swim team!"

"N-N-Na-ni?"

Without any explanation whatsoever Nanase-kun took me outside past the crowd of people and towards the empty lot and an old locker hall. Through those doors came the sunlight beaming off of the pavement and into my eyes, then a familiar set of voices greeting Nanase-kun.

"Hey, Nanase-kun, did you actually find somebody alr-Misuzu-san?!"

"Mueller-san?"I started.

"Aww, Nanase, what'd you do? She's not the type of fresh meat we were askin' fer'!"

"Oi, Nanase, you didn't scare my girl, did you?" said Ella-chan.

Everyone that I knew gathered around us at the locker room staircase leading into the gated pool area. Mueller-san took my hands and asked me if I were okay.

"Oh, don't worry about me. Nanase-kun came up to me and asked if I would join the swim club."

"Nanase! No fair! That was our job!" protested Ella-chan.

"I helped the club, didn't I?"

"Only if she were to join, and that doesn't seem-"

"Oh, please don't argue over me!"

I inhaled through the nose before I admitted to them,"Actually...I was going to ask if I could join..because I...I wanted to get to know you all better..oh! But not just that! I...I wanted to learn about swimming from you all."

Both Ella-chan and Mueller-san grinned devilishly at each other.

"Just as sweet as ever, neh, Samantha-chan?"

"H-huh?" I sqeaked.

"D'aw! How can we say no that sweet little face!"

Ella-chan and Mueller-san were about to hug me when Hazuki-kun came up to me, taking my hands and exclaiming, "You hear that guys? We got a new member!"

"Huh? Really?" Kou-chan asked as she leaned over the railing on the second level.

"Gou-chan! Misuzu-chan wants to be a part of the swim team!"

"It's Ko-ugh, never mind, " she groaned as she bounded down the steps towards us.

The rest of the group was glad to see me a part of the club. But I was surprised to find Amakata-sensei laying on a chair near the pool and being called the club adviser.

Their happiness seemed to brighten the mood, especially after Kou-chan agreed to join two days later. We were all excited to see that our group could accomplish so much by the end of the week. The new and improved pool was our first step to making our way as a team. My fear of swimming seemed to dull at that moment when I saw them smiling with me. It gave me confidence that I'd be able to follow along beside them, and to enjoy the things that they did.

* * *

The pool was finished by that Friday afternoon. Amakata-sensei handed out the chlorine tablets to throw in after a cup of juice to cheer to our success. All of us spread out to each different corner of the pool, Mueller-san and I standing side by side, and threw them in.

"You excited or what?" asked Mueller-san.

"I definitely am excited for this!" I answered.

"Wait, Haru!" Tachibana-kun shouted out, "You were wearing your swimsuit again?!"

Both of us turned to the front end of the pool. Nanase-kun stripped off his shirt and stood at the edge of the pool with only a swimsuit on. Mueller-san whistled and said, "Whoa, Nelly! Calm yourself down now, Nanase!"

"M-M-Mue-Mueller-!"

I stepped back. I couldn't handle looking at a sudden naked boy standing over..there...I felt my face heat up like I was a bomb waiting to explode.

"Misuzu-san, are you alright? There's nothing to get worked up about, " Mueller-san said to calm me as I backed up against the fence, "just take a breath an-hey, wait, who are you?!"

Mueller-san turned to a red-headed person ominously standing in a close-by bush with something in his hand. I squinted my eyes. A...camera?...

I looked down and saw that my skirt had flipped up with the wind. And then I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"PERVERT! THERE'S A PERVERT BY THE FENCE!"

My hands cupped my face as I tried to run away. But then I felt myself falling over. I didn't have enough time to see where I was going when I met the water, side ways, with a gigantic splash.

_No! Not again! The water-The water's closing in on me! _I screamed in my head.

I wanted to move, I did, but my body locked in place. It was just like how I dreamed about it in my nightmares-I was sinking into a never ending body of water with my lungs closing up and my vision skewed by the dimness of the deep blue. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't swim, I knew I couldn't, and yet I desperately attempted to save myself. I couldn't breath-I was underwater for more than a minute without a breath of air in my system-the darkness was closing in..closing in..

_Please, someone save me! I can't move! Please!_

There came a hand from out of the darkness and grabbed my arm. My eyes were closed, but I could feel the warmth of their touch as they swam up to the surface.

At first I didn't know what to do when I was above the water. The air swarmed in through my lungs as I coughed up the water caught in my throat. Then there came many other hands that took me from my rescuer, but I didn't want him to let me go.

"Misuzu-san! Misuzu-san!"

Mueller-san called out to me as she pulled me out of the water. My head lolled to the side where I could see the person in the water. It was him. The mermaid boy...

"The...boy from the ocean...saved me..."

"Misuzu-san?"

"Thank you..."

With that, I felt myself slip out of my body and into the dark.


	3. Recruiting and Resolving

Chapter Three:

My head buzzed with white noise as I woke up from a deep sleep. I found myself in the nurse's office laying on top of a white sheet bed, all of my friends standing around and waiting for me to respond. My friend Mueller-san had to explain to me about what happened before. After that it all came back to me: I fell into the water after someone behind the fence took a picture of my underwear and I passed out. In all of the chaos I was saved by Nanase-kun who reminded me of the young boy from ages ago, and I even called him "my hero"...Oh my gosh,...how embarrassing...

Even after I apologized for worrying my classmates, she told me that as friends we have to lean on each other for support. Hearing her say that made me so happy that she and everyone else considered me a friend. I was almost convinced that I couldn't do so at all. I'd finally been able to reach a goal set out for my year. And they were so nice and kind to me-

And then there was Nanase-kun in his swimsuit. I stared at his bare chest rising and falling with his breath, his lean stomach as a few water droplets rolled from his hair to his bellybutton. His keen eyes that were focused on the window...

My head felt heavy, and my breath was short...I couldn't help but faint again.

An hour later I woke up in my room laying on my bed, still in my uniform. It was almost as if everything after school was just a dream. Everything was quiet as I sat up. I looked at my ruffled skirt and then to the sunlight from the window, wondering how in the world I got home.

"Oh, hey, you're up. We were wondering about you."

"Look who decided to join us!"

Sitting on the floor below me were Samantha-chan and Ella-chan, the tallest one leaning against the wall and my other friend trying to balance herself laying on her stomach on the rolling chair of my desk. And both of them were reading manga. The manga from my box.

I could hear myself shut down like a computer from the inside as I tried to think of something to say. A lie like "my brother actually left that in my room" or "it was from an old friend"...but then again, I didn't have a brother..and those two were the closest friends I had in town.

The only thing I could do was stare at the box thinking that they'd find my old "spellbook" from junior high if they dug any deeper, and make an inhaling noise similar to a cat producing a hairball.

"Hey, you're lookin' a little pale there, Kasumi-chan," said Samantha-chan. "You still woozy?"

"U-U-U-U-"

"Maybe she didn't want us to read her books from that box?" suggested Ella-chan.

"Oh. I'm sorry. We'll put 'em back if you don't want us to read 'em."

"Yeah, we didn't know that you'd freak out about i-agh!"

Ella-chan tilted towards the box to get up and ended up on the floor with a loud BOOM!.

"Oo-gh...'Bollocks'...That's gonna hurt later..."

"Are...Are you okay, Takemono-chan?" I asked.

"I'll be fine.."

"I thought I told ya' not to do that the first time," Samantha-chan sighed to her.

" '_Oh, bug off, you wanker_'," the other cursed in English.

Samantha-chan laughed back at her as she turned a page in her book.

A sudden itch in my nose made me sneeze, followed by two more. I pondered about whether there was too much dust in the room or if it came from the storage box.

"Umm," I replied while I pinched my nose, "You're..free to read..the books...I'm..not upset..."

"You're not? Okay, then. I'll keep readin' cuz' this is getting interesting."

"Yeah, this is pretty cool what you got here..I guess..."

I knelt beside Samantha-chan to ask her, "You don't think it's...weird?"

"Not really, no. My daddy has a whole bunch of these in the attic at my grandmother's, so it doesn't really faze me. Why?"

I looked down to my skirt, trying to think of a good excuse for them to put away the books before it could get any more hairy.

"Not a lot..of people think...it's okay."

"Having manga?" Ella-chan piped in as she rummaged through the box. "What's so bad about reading comi-hey, what the hell is this?"

She found it. My old "spellbook" which was really a regular black notebook with a few pentagon signs glued on and glitter to make it "girlified".

" 'Sorcery Guide to the Perverse and Divine'. 'Written by Osana Magische Flugel'..."

"Did you just say something in German?"

My entire body felt like it were on fire when I blushed at her pronunciation of my 'chuunibyou' name. I'd never heard anyone say it besides me, given that I'd never had another friend or classmate that understood me then...It was a phase of growing up that I couldn't bear to relive while trying to act more mature in high school.

I bowed in apology to them, wanting to cry, and told them, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to see that!"

"You mean you wrote this?" asked Ella-chan.

I nodded my head slightly in the carpet. "It's too embarrassing...".

"Oh..my gosh...so basically, you were a 'chuuni' in junior high?"my other friend quipped.

"What's a 'chuuni'?"

"It's like this...It's kind of like...ugh-okay. So, really, it means 'eighth-grade syndrome'. Some eighth graders either act stuck up and think they know better than others, or..some of them believe that they have supernatural powers."*

"Oh..."

Samantha-chan told me to sit up, and I did. She didn't look bewildered or concerned...only settle.

"If you didn't want us to know about it, then we can put it back and pretend we never saw it."

"...You mean...you don't find it weird?"

"Not really, no. This is a secret...but...when I was in elementary school, I used to pretend that I was a princess. Kids used to make fun of me until I stopped in middle school. So I understand...in some manner, I guess."

She then replied to Ella-chan, "We understand, right, Ella?"

"Yeah...sure..." she mumbled at first,"I mean, I never had that kind of imagination..but sure, let's say I understand."

She stuffed the old notebook back into the box as I thanked them for understanding. Samantha-chan smiled and told me that friends don't judge each other. To me it would have been a bit confusing for her to act like this, given that others in middle school would have avoided me after hearing a few incantations from the notebook, but then again she was a kind person who had a different cultural background than I did. What she had done I took as a good sign.

At least she and Ella-chan hadn't come out and said that I was weird...

My friends had to leave after that, saying goodbye to both my mother and I at the door. Mother waved back to them and told me, "Your new friends are a bit peculiar, neh, Kasumi-chan? They came in with you in their arms and told me that you fell into a pool."

" 'Hai'...I fell in.." I said with a sneeze.

"Ohhh, Kasumi-chan," she pouted, "you'll get a cold if you don't change out of that uniform. Go upstairs and take a hot bath."

" 'Hai'..."

But I forgot to take a shower before I went to bed. By the next afternoon I suffered a mild headache and sneezed uncontrollably while the team gathered at Nanase-kun's house. I didn't get to hear what the others were talking about other than competing at "regionals" in the near future. Samantha-chan and Ella-chan found it funny that Nanase-kun and I sneezed one right after the other during our get-together, but it wasn't as amusing for me. I didn't want to make myself a target for attention while something serious was going on in front of me.

What I did learn there was that Nanase-kun lived alone while his parents were away and that..well...he cooks 'saba' _(mackerel)_ in his swim trunks and an apron. Nagisa-kun teased him about it while we girls left. Kou-san wasn't there to take any pictures of him like she had done before, but Gou-kun secretly took one of me blushing as I overheard the others talking about Nanase-kun. Ella-chan threatened to destroy his phone if he didn't delete it.

Gou-kun had acted as though he didn't remember taking a picture of...my underwear and being interrogated by my friends in the nurse's office. He tagged alongside us at lunch and on the way home both Friday and Saturday asking the same thing:

"C'mon, why can't I join the swim club? I could be a good manager!"

"I can think of so many reasons, '_wanker_'," hissed Ella-chan as we marched down the stairs of the sidewalk. "You got balls just to even talk to us after-"

"I know I was wrong, but if you give me a chance I promise I'll do you righ-I mean, umm-"

"You pig!"

Samantha-chan pulled her back by the shoulder.

"You say you want to be the manager," my taller friend said, turning her attention to Gou-kun," but what do you have to be a good manager?"

All of us fixed our eyes on him.

" 'Sono' _(Umm)_...well," he answered bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, "I can talk to Kou-chan about scheduling the pool for you and creating charts for practice routines. If you need me to I can recommend swimsuits for you-"

"No, thank you," huffed Ella-chan.

" '_Oh, no ya' don't_'," Samantha-chan huffed in English while grabbing our friend's arm.

"Give me a chance..." he pleaded. "Misuzu-chan, will you take my side?"

" 'A-A-A..no'..."

"Gou-kun, you don't need anyone to side with you."

Samantha-chan gave a small complacent sigh before telling him, "Give me one reason to cut you off as manager and a member and I will. After that you can't say I didn't warn you."

He grinned and bowed to her. Ella-chan yanked her arm out of her grasp, folding it in her other and pouting her lip at Gou-kun.

I didn't have any objections but I also didn't feel comfortable with the new addition. Gou-kun did apologize multiple times for taking pictures of me, though there was something about him that I didn't quite understand. I think it was that he had boldly claimed to be a women's swimsuit fanatic in front of us. While I thought that I was weird for being a 'chuuni' once, it wasn't proper or normal to be known as a youth who was "very" interested in the opposite sex and their apparel.

But that had to be put aside. He was our manager as appointed by our team captain. On Monday he signed a club form and made his title official.

That day was also when my friends started recruiting other students for the girls' team during lunch. I waited for them at the pool where we were supposed to meet after they finished, but I sat on the small staircase daring myself to eat from my 'bento' without them. I couldn't bring myself to do it...so I waited. And waited.

_They'll be here shortly_, I kept thinking.

I was by myself for awhile, staring at my 'bento'. Everyone was late...

_Maybe I should check the classroom to see if they stopped by there._

I set my lunch aside to sit up. There was no one around to see me bend over and pick it up-that is, until I heard to locker room door close.

From the corner of my eye I could see Nanase-kun turning towards the staircase. He would see my panties!

I quickly stood up and reached behind me to tug my skirt over my rear, suddenly losing my balance at the balls of my feet.

I stifled a gasp. I was about to land on my back, but instead I...was floating..?

When I opened my eyes there were hands on my left side, arms underneath me...and a school uniform on my right. It felt firm like a body was wearing it..and above me was a face. Two clear blue eyes looking directly at me. A naked pair of lips partially opened as though they were going to speak.

" 'Daijoubu'?"

His voice. His lips moved. It was real. Nanase-kun caught me.._I was in his arms?!_

Nanase-kun asked me again if I was alright, but I couldn't say a word. My throat closed on me like it did before with Samantha-chan and Ella-chan in my room. A cold sweat ran down my spine.

I leaned my weight to my knees and quickly zipped up the stairs to bow in apology. I was still too flustered to talk, but Nanase-kun had no reaction to it whatsoever. He calmly nodded his head and used the stairs, passing by me like our awkward moment hadn't happened. I was going to ask why no one else was with him when he bent down to dip his hand in the water. His other rose to his tie.

"..N-Na..N-Nanase-k-kun..." I gasped.

He turned his head slightly in my direction.

I cowered behind the railing of the staircase and warned him, "Umm..y-you..shouldn't s-swim..today. It-It's still co-old..You'll get...sick.."

He didn't nod his head, neither did he seem to listen as he stared back at the water. I couldn't help but feel insulted that he didn't respond.

"Soon..." he muttered to the water.

I watched as Nanase-kun stood up before our friends came out from the locker room chatting like usual.

"Kasumi-chan, we're so sorry to make you wait, "Samantha-chan greeted, "but it seems like our work paid off. Ella-chan may have found another member."

"I'm pretty positive my people skills did all the wooing. All I gotta do now is bring her here after school to sign a club form," boasted our friend.

"Neh, Ella-chan, I don't think it counts if she ran off before you could talk to her about it," Nagisa-kun said.

" 'Uru-se' _(Shut up)_. I know what I'm doing. So don't think you can bring my hopes down because you're jealous!"

"But I'm not-"

"Haru! Don't jump in the pool yet!" Makoto-kun trilled at his friend.

Nanase-kun looked like a sad puppy when he stepped away from the pool and to his friend. Everyone would have held him back if he were resistant because of last week. That Saturday when he tried to deny being sick everyone was on look-out for him. We all knew he wanted to get into the pool early.

_Why was he so keen on swimming this early in the season? _I questioned myself afterwards. He was quite a curious person when you looked at him from an outsider's perspective.

Thankfully he didn't try to dive in for the rest of the day, though he kept his eyes to the window throughout the afternoon. Then during our after school meeting he ignored just about everyone around him as he stared at the water. It would've been considered rude to not introduce himself to our interested new member if she had noticed.

The student Ella-chan said she "reeled in" was an underclassman in her homeroom named Ryuko Michiko. Ryuko-san had the face of a doll and the grace of a swan; her long teal hair sat on her shoulders in smooth waves, ending in small curls while her eyes shined with a blue tint, yet there was a spackle or two of hazel near her pupils. It was somewhat intimidating when I introduced myself to her and she smiled curtly at my friend's comment of calling me cute. Her mouth formed a tight line expression, and I noticed the stiffness in her body. She stood too straight and smiled too nervously. Her face was pale and close to breaking a sweat as though she were in pain or ill. It wasn't an anxious look you would have if you met new people, that I could certainly tell, but something different.

But she acted like she were fine. Pretended that no one else would notice. And so I couldn't assume too much of it.

Unexpectedly, Nagisa-kun gathered everyone together to see another "interested" classmate at the track field. Ella-chan challenged him when she saw that there was more competition to find new members, making it obvious that she didn't like to lose. Beside her were Nanase-kun and Makoto-kun either talking to each other or listening to Ryuko-san answer questions from Samantha-chan. All of us payed close attention to Ryuko-san when she answered that she knew little of athletic swimming but was determined to learn with us, her voice clear yet quiet when she spoke.

Then, at the track field, she barely said a word. She stared in awe at the boy that Nagisa-kun mentioned. He called him "Ryugazaki Rei" and said that he had to join us because he had a girly name.

He didn't look girly, or so I assumed. He was a taller first-year with muscular arms that stretched out of his track uniform and a lean figure to match. Like Ryuko-san he wore glasses, albeit his were square-framed and red-rimmed. His short hair was a surprising color of blue that parted more to his left.

"That's so stupid!" complained Ella-chan as we watched the first-year on the track field.

"Shh! He's about to go!" Nagisa-kun shushed.

The rest of us turned to the track. Ryugazaki-san stood feet away from his obstacle, holding his pole in front of him. I couldn't see well what he was doing before running, but when he jumped everyone watched with anticipation. I admired his entry, and immediately I felt as though I were so petty compared to him. Just like Nanase, he was fearless in his own sport, determined, and swift.

_Sugoi..._

"Lady Ryuko?"

Suddenly a man in a formal suit was standing next to our new member. She answered him with a meek, "Yes?". Ella-chan asked her, " 'Ar-e' _(Huh)_? Ryuko-san, who're you talkin' to?"

She spun around, her face paler than before.

"Please, excuse me," she laughed and stuttered at the same time, "my..uncle has come..to, er, pick me up. I-I live outside of town. I'm very sorry. I'll see you tomorrow, Takemono-san! 'Min-ea'!"

And then she left. The rest of us turned to the other, befuddled, but let it go after the sun was starting to set.

Ryuko-san never did come back the next day.

* * *

The swim club had short meetings at lunch and after school as Nagisa-kun attempted to recruit Ryugazaki-san like he had promised. As for Nanase-kun, he was heavily guarded from the pool after he almost succeeded in dipping his head in the water. That was the only thing he tried for the week.

He and everyone else got wind Thursday that Kou-san scheduled a joint practice with a neighboring school called Samezuka Academy, which put him on his best behavior. All was well for the club when Nagisa-kun convinced Ryugazaki-san to come with us and Ella-chan with Ryuko-san. The "uncle" from before met us at the other school gates to give his "niece" her swimsuit, and then stayed behind while the group continued on inside the campus of the the school.

The person at the gate was the Samezuka boys' team captain, Mikoshiba-san. He was a very tall boy with tan skin and red hair. The only thing to note about his eyes was that they were always on us girls as if he were glaring at us or sizing us up. His persona terrified me. It would take another me and a half to stand taller than him, and yet I'd still feel as scared. When he smiled at me I hid behind Samantha-chan as if he were going to persecute me.

Mikoshiba-san was at least kind enough to show us around before reaching the pool. The campus had more land than Iwatobi High did. The cafeteria was its own separate building and dorms stood at the far corners of the property. What they called a pool was an actual natatorium than the outdoor pool we had, and there were more people on both their teams than one of ours.

So-so many people...around a giant pool...

_I-I'm not freaking out! Who wants to freak out in front of..a lot of...people..around a scary large pool..._

I gulped the acid crawling up my throat while holding onto Samantha-chan's shirt. She gave me a reassuring smile and told me everything was going to be fun, but I couldn't be as ecstatic about it as she was. We were with strangers practically naked and had to swim in front of the opposite sex, the air was moist and every noise bounced off the walls like a cave. I was more comfortable as a child bathing with my father* than where I was in the same pool with multiple boys...I really wished they didn't make us swim at the same time...

"I hope we didn't have a hard time showing them to the pool, neh, Mikoshiba-kun?"

A girl approached the group with a whistle hanging from her neck, hair that flowed to her shoulders like the color of candlelight, and creamy-colored skin. She politely smiled at the other team captain, obviously directing her question to him.

"Yes. It all went well."

"Then I won't need to ask if you've been chatting with the girls. Good job."

" 'Nan-de'?" he sighed. "You're treating me as if I weren't serious about my team."

"Simply checking, Miko."

I watched as he lamely tried to think of what to counter with, but in the end called for his team.

"So," the girl captain said to us, "who here is the captain of the boys' team and the girls' team?"

Samantha-chan and Makoto-kun stepped closer to her and bowed their heads. Mikoshiba-kaichou took the boys to the locker room while the girls not changed waited with us.

" 'Mueller-san'," the other captain replied, " 'hai'?"

" 'Hai'."

"How's it going with the girls' team so far?"

"Well, we recently cleaned out the pool and recruited only one new member. There hasn't been a lot of practice, to be honest."

"Ah, I understand. Our team was recently formed as well. But it's good to know where to start off with this time trial."

"Exactly."

It wasn't long before the girls could use the locker rooms after the short conversation between the captains. When we were using it, my nerves were coursing through my body like a waterfall down a mountain. The smell of chlorine and male sweat permeated the walls, and it was humid, yet no one seemed to mind. Well, there was Ryuko-san who changed out of her uniform just as carefully as I had. I guess both of us had something to relate to. But I had more to be skittish about. My swimsuit was a few years old, a blue one-piece that stretched out too much and sunk into my shoulders too deep.

"Alright, girls," Samantha-chan instructed us in the natatorium, "Let's go watch the guys. Kou, I need you to not drool over their muscles."

Kou-san waited outside of the room. She wasn't going to swim, of course, but she had her cell phone sticking out of her skirt pocket for on-the-spot picture taking.

"I don't drool."

"No, but you stare. I already have a pervert as a manager to babysit. So silently marvel at them o-"

" 'Nii-chan' _(Brother)_!"

The boys' team manager ran away while waving to a Samezuka boy with a similar hair color to hers. Our captain mumbled to herself about taking care of her later then focused her attention on Gou-kun. He quickly glanced back and forth at each girl that passed by him, daring to pull out his own cell phone to take pictures. Samantha-chan folded her arms and marched towards him. I didn't want to seem nosy, so I looked away. _Ryuko-san's closer to me. I could try to talk to her, _I thought_. _

But when I looked at the other person she was apologizing to, I immediately recognized their sakura-colored hair. I remembered it well from long ago on the beach where the wind teased their small pigtails.

"Na...na...mi..?"

My old friend saw me standing beside Ryuko-san.

"Kasumi...?"

My teammate left us to privacy. The two of us stood on the outside of the crowd gathered by the pool, nervously glancing from side to side. Nanami stood tall, almost a foot above me yet still shorter than Samantha-chan, and her hair had grown longer in a single tail behind her head. Her bangs sat in natural waves around her face down to her jaw. With her beautiful clear blue eyes and fair skin, she looked like a fairy tale princess from a children's book.

She looked flawless...

"Neh, Kasumi," she said, "It's...been a while, huh?"

"Y-yeah..."

I clutched onto my left arm for comfort. Neither of us knew where to start from that day on the beach. It was a hard transition, moving out of Iwatobi for a few years, and even more so when Nanami stopped talking to me before I left. In the natatorium was the first time I got to see her in a long time...

"I see that my cousin is here. He probably saw the girls' swim team and weaseled his way in..."

"Umm,...well, I wouldn't say that...Gou-kun promised to be on his best behavior as our manager."

"He's your manager?" she scoffed. " 'Mah', he's always been like that. Ever since he was a toddler he 's tried to pluck women's swimsuit straps on the beach-"

Her eyes grew wide, and she quickly apologized.

"There's no need...for that. I'm quite fine with it...really.."

"...Really...?"

Her worried expression set my heart racing in anxiety as I tried to give her a positive grin. It brought back the fear of drowning when I needed to be calm, and just a small smile would have reassured us both. But my mouth wouldn't try as hard.

"Kasumi...are you here to-"

A giant splash in the water drew our attention to the pool. One of the boys from my group tried to dive in but didn't make it back to the surface. Nanase-kun had to help him, but then Ella-chan and our new member fell in. Not a one knew what to do. The Samezuka girls either spoke to each other or tried to search for a mop, and the boys stood speechless. Our team captains tried calming the crowd, giving orders in the process, and among them Samantha-chan stepped up to the pool and asked our teammates if they were alright.

" 'Gomen', Nanami," I said, "I should go."

I jogged to the locker room to find Ryuko-san's and Ella-chan's towels they left behind. Nanami watched me go, unable to say anything in return.

_It's alright,_ I told myself as I looked for their towels, _I can do this. I can be courageous like my teammates to swim. They say we have to rely on each other, but if I do then I'll never be able to stand up for myself. All I have to do is one lap. If I can show Nanami and the others that I can do this, then I won't have to be afraid. I don't have to be afraid any longer..._

It was too weak of a pep talk to get me through it, but when I handed my teammates their towels I saw a glimmer of gratitude in their eyes. And it hit me: I had to be an upperclassmen that they can look up to. I can't back out of anything at the last minute or they wouldn't acknowledge my seniority.

And Nanase-kun... All eyes were on him when he swam, and everyone saw the fluidity of his movements. I could see the comfort in his face when he swam. He loved this sport, or..at least swimming. But he was my hero for it.

_My hero is here with me. And because of that I can resolve this! _

The girls were up to the diving boards after him. Without consulting the team I took the first turn. My goggles were tightly strapped on around my head, my feet positioned correctly, and my arms out in front of me. All according to what the boys did. I'd just follow through the same movements as them. Easy peasy.

_Three...two...one...go! _The whistle sounded.

"Misuzu-san!"

"Kasumi!"


	4. Karma at Play

Chapter Four:

_I stepped forward on the wet sand, feeling the tiny waves lap onto the shore, soaking my feet._

_"Neh, neh, Nana-chan," I prodded, "what's the ocean feel like?" _

_"What kind of question is that? The ocean feels wet, dummy."_

_"No, I mean...how does it feel to swim in a big open space? Your mommy does that for a job, right?"_

_"Well, yeah..."_

_"Is it scary?"_

_Nanami-chan thought long and hard, squinting at the water on the shore._

_"I guess...you could say that it feels...alive...or..wait-"  
_

_" 'Alive'?"_

_"It feels like a person. It reacts to everything it touches."_

_"Then how am I supposed to swim in it?" _

_"You gotta feel it. Here, I'll show you!" _

_She reached out, grabbing my hand and pulling me alongside her._

_And so I followed. _

_That was the last time she led me anywhere. Because that was the day I nearly drowned._

* * *

_Were there people calling out to me just now? _

I was tempted to turn back and look, but I was already diving in...

Diving in...

_The pool? Am I crazy?!_

That's when I realized the horrible mistake I had made. My fear of the water began overpowering my sense of courage right as I made an ungraceful dive into the water. With anxious bubbles in my stomach the bitter cold left me useless as I tried to think of which direction I was swimming, or if I even knew how to swim.

_I can't believe I did this! Where am I going? Which limb do I use first?! _I panicked as I swiped my arms out in front of me.

_Okay...I just need to calm down. Umm...let's start with my left arm and kick separately..._

With my left arm I swung over my head and swished my feet in the water. I started off slow, working my way from there to the halfway point. For safety I kept my eyes closed, even if I were wearing goggles, but it didn't stop me from taking a peak at my progress.

One eye opened, then both went wide.

I was surrounded by nothing but ocean blue. Just like that day.

_Oh no...oh no-no-no-no-no! Not again! No! C'mon, legs! Faster! Get me out of here!_

My legs were moving to the speed of a jammed rudder, pausing ever-so-often at the worst of times. I was resorted to swinging my arms more to make up for my distance. Everyone else had probably made the turn. It was hard to tell when I was splashing water and bubbles around to fog my vision. It wasn't on purpose, but it was enough to help me ignore the color of the water. That eerie feeling I got just thinking about it made my stomach churn.

At the turn I almost hit my head on the wall and had to spin around instead of flip. It probably wasn't allowed...

_I'll have to keep on going. It's just a little bit more before I'm done. I can do this!_

The finishing point was so close! I tried biting my lip in between breaths to keep from thinking about the water and its reminder of the ocean. The best thing to do was pretend that I was swimming in soda, but my mind wasn't convinced well to go along. Gradually my arms and legs became heavy. I felt extorted of my energy after the halfway point.

_C'mon, Kasumi! You gotta try harder! Think of your superhero Aino-chan! She wouldn't quit at a time like this!_

I was getting slower.

_Think of Nanase-kun! You're ruining his good reputation as a swimmer, doing so poorly after him! Pull yourself together! _

My friends, Nanase-kun, were all watching over me. They were outside the pool, cheering me on to finish.

I gathered all of the courage and energy left in me to stretch my body out to touch the wall, the finishing point. Like touching the water at the beginning of the dive, my fingertips brushed something cold, and my heart gave a quick flutter, sounding similar to _doki-doki._ But I'd made it.

Standing upright and taking off my goggles I smiled at my team standing above me. Samantha-chan was the first to praise me.

"You did good, Kasumi-chan," she said, "but are your legs okay? Did you get a cramp?"

"I-I'm quite...alright..." I panted.

I never thought I'd work so hard to be so out of breath like that. With a deep exhale I relaxed my body to keep my attention on my friend.

"Okay. Well, let's get you a seat. You're lookin' a little pale."

"O-Okay."

Getting out of the pool was alright. The hardest was to walk back with the others with jelly legs. Some of the boys on our team smiled and told me that I did good, but the looks on Nanase-kun's and Ryugazaki-san's faces said otherwise. I bashfully thanked the others for their encouragement and sat myself as far away as I could from the team.

Samantha-chan beamed as she volunteered to go next. And I saw why. When she dove in, she looked as cheerful and gorgeous in the water as she did every day. People admired her for her strength and beauty when she swam, and her making the best time was like the cherry on top.

Ella-chan was spirited and fast after Samantha-chan's turn, even though she didn't make the best time like our friend. Then Ryuko-san after her...She was as graceful as a swan when she was swimming. It reminded me that the looks I got from my own teammates was a sign that I was terrible. People standing by the pool, watching, could have laughed at me, teased and pointed their fingers at the girl who looked like an elephant splashing its feet in water. I probably made a fool of myself for all I knew...

To keep myself from crying out of shame I had to bite my lip and dig my nails into my palms. I felt so ashamed even after practice was over and we were getting undressed to leave. My face must have given away my attitude because Samantha-chan stood beside me and asked, "What's gotcha' so down, hon'?"

"O-oh,...it's nothing..."

"You sure? You've been as meek as a mouse since we got here."

"Gomen..."

"You don't have a thing to be sorry for," she said insistently. "You were good today. It's okay if you didn't make the best time or synch your kicks with your arms or...or..."

She paused.

"I'm not makin' this any better, am I?"

I slumped to the bench beneath me so I could bury my face in my hands. Tears were threatening to burst when I tried holding them back, and my throat was constricting with sobs ready to jump out.

_I'm so stupid! I shouldn't have been so bold like that! Jumping right into the water..._

_And everyone was watching me! They watched me swim so terribly, so this might be Samantha-chan trying to break it gently that she's going to kick me off the team! _

"Heey, c'mon, you're not that upset about it? Don't cry, hon'," Samantha-chan cooed in a soothing voice, sitting down right next to me.

"I promise not to be terrible again, so don't kick me off the team!" I wailed into my hands.

"Kick you of-hey, I wouldn't do that to you! Kasumi-chan, look here."

I tried to wipe away the tears clouding my eyes as I sat up straight. Samantha-chan continued to sternly reply, "I'd never kick someone off because they thought they were terrible at their first practice. I believe that if you have the motivation and the heart, you're as good as anyone to be here with the team.

"Kasumi-chan, you gotta have some confidence in yourself. You did wonderfully out there and you should be proud. This is a big step for our team to come together. And you being a part of it makes it all the better."

She was right, but I wouldn't believe I was any good in the water as I was trying to make friends outside of the club.

"Kasumi-chan, is there something you haven't told me? Something that would be good to get off your chest?"

_Oh, no...She suspects me. What do I do? _

_There's no way I can tell her everything. She'd never believe that I'm afraid of swimming or the ocean..._

"I...I'm just..I haven't been swimming in a long time. So I'm...not as good," I managed to say.

"Really? You haven't even been to a public pool? When's the last time you've gone swimming?"

"Umm...a couple of years ago..I guess...?"

I tried not to sigh aloud. My half-truths were helping, but they left a thrashing guilt in my heart. It made me feel like I were betraying my friends' trust.

_The only thing I can do is swallow back the guilt and keep going with it. Until I can find the right time, I can't say it. I can't acknowledge it..._A little voice in my head tried to persuade me.

"Hey, are you two ready or not?" Ella-chan called out from the other side of the shelves.

"We're comin'! No need to get your panties in a twist!" answered Samantha-chan.

"It's 'knickers'. 'Knickers' in a twist!"

"_Americans say 'panties', dangit_!" my friend exclaimed in English.

"_Yeah, what other phrases haven't you already screwed up.._.?"

"You do know that I can hear you mumblin' back there!" protested my friend as she stood up to peek around the corner.

"Maybe I wanted you to hear t-hey, don't look at me! I don't have my shirt on!"

"Yeah, and you're the one wanting to rush us out of here!"

"_Oh, bugger off_!"

Both of them laughed, their voices bouncing off of the walls from one end of the room to the other. I smiled, wanting to be a part of their idle chatter. But that guilt still lingering in my mind held me back from joining them. I had a feeling that it would come back to haunt me again.

I just hoped that it wouldn't be at our next practice.

* * *

The next morning in the school yard I walked beside Samantha-chan as we talked about our practice from the last evening. It made me nervous at first to hear what she had to say, thinking that she might bring back our talk, but instead she focused on her thoughts of Ryuko-san.

_As long as it isn't about my performance..._I thought.

"But I have a really good feeling about her. I think she might want to join, and that'd be such a huge relief, but that so called 'uncle' of hers seems to be strict on what she does. I'm not saying I don't believe she told us the truth, but something about that guy doesn't come off as 'family'. It's more like 'butler', y'know?

"...What if she's actually a daughter from a rich family? Man, would we be lucky to have someone like that-ouch!"

"Is-Is something wrong?" I stopped to ask.

"Oh, it's just some of my eye liner. I think I put some too close to my eye line."

She gingerly tried to wipe the inner corner of her left eye with her forefinger. I had no idea she was wearing any make-up until she had brought it up.

"Samantha-chan? You...you wear makeup...?"

"Yeah. I've worn makeup since I hit puberty. What's wrong?"

"Oh-oh...n-nothing! It-It's just that-"

"It's that not a lot of girls here wear makeup at school," interrupted Ella-chan who entered the conversation from behind Samantha-chan.

"Really? They don't wear it here?"

"I don't think it's against the rules here, 'cuz I've worn mascara since day one and still get away with it. But there's also the sort-of girl code that says we don't wear make-up unless there's a guy involved."

"What? Like a crush?"

"Yeah, I guess...but don't take it from me seriously. I'm only in on half the stuff here anyway..."

Samantha-chan nodded in agreement. I thought about what Ella-chan said, girls wearing makeup for boys.

_What would my friends do if they wore it for a boy they liked? What kind of makeup would they wear?_

_What would I...?_

"I think Kasumi-chan would look so adorable with a little lip gloss on!" teased Samantha-chan.

"She already looks like a doll. Her lashes are so long that she doesn't need any mascara!" added my other friend.

They stood closer, looking directly at my face trying to imagine me with make-up. I bashfully looked away, not wanting to blush with the thought of wearing something like shiny lip gloss or heavy mascara at school. Or what the boys on our team would say if they saw me...

"Aww, she's getting all shy! That's so cute!"

"Y'know, I think I have some balm in my bag that we can put on her lips," Ella-chan offered.

I was about to decline the offer when someone from behind me came in and asked, "What's this about lip balm?"

"Not you..." grumbled Ella-chan.

Gou-kun turned to Samantha-chan for an explanation. She simply answered, "We're just talking about girl stuff."

"Are swimsuits involved? Because I can offer a lo-"

"Please, for-the-love-of-GOD, do-not!-talk..." groaned my blond friend.

"But it qualifies as-"

"Sorry, guys, but the bell just rang," Samantha-chan informed them.

"See you guys later!" Ella-chan called out as she ran through the entrance.

Gou-kun stayed behind to talk with his classmates as Samantha-chan and I took to our shoe lockers. We made it to class on time, much to our luck, but it was hard to concentrate on taking notes when I couldn't stop thinking about my friends wanting to give me a make-over. They were persistent, yet I wanted to say no. What would've happened if I let them put lipgloss on me?

My classmates wouldn't notice, but Nagisa-kun would be the first to point it out during our afternoon practice.

"Hey, look!" he'd exclaim,"Kasumi-chan is wearing lip gloss. Doesn't she look so cute!"

My two friends would boast about their work as the others would awe at me. As if I weren't embarrassed enough, Nanase-kun would stand before me and say," Your lips..."

"Does it not look good?" I'd shyly ask.

"...I like it..."

He'd stare at me intently as I batted my eyes. Then he'd lean in-

"Kasumi-chan? Oh, Kasumi-chan?" sung Samantha-chan in my ear.

I jumped an inch off of my seat in surprise, then looked to my friend on the left who smiled and replied, "looks like someone was off in LaLa Land. Have a nice nap?"

"I-I-I-"

_I really hope she doesn't suspect that I was thinking of Nanase-kun. I never even thought that I could think of him in such a way!...How embarrassing..._

"I'm just teasin' you! No need to be so bashful! C'mon, all of us are talkin' about our next practice!"

She ushered for me to move in a square with Makoto-kun's and Nanase-kun's desks like her, but how could I not be nervous? I didn't think we'd jump so quickly into our next get-together.

_Shouldn't we take it easy because of our joint practice yesterday? _I thought to myself.

Though I wasn't one for voicing my opinion, the conversation between the other three sounded a lot like their own speculations instead of actual plans they had for the club.

"So, we'll meet the others at the pool after they buy lunch?" asked Samantha-chan.

"Hai. I think Nagisa-kun mentioned something about 'a challenge' that he wanted to take care of," said Makoto-kun.

"Alrighty, then. Well, I think there should be a meeting after school today. Everybody should talk to each other about what they want to see in the near future for the club and what they'd want to do on their teams."

"That sounds great!"

"Thanks..I think because of yesterday that we should work together to build team trust. It's always important to rely on each other."

"Hai. I know that Haru-chan, Nagisa-kun, and I have been together since childhood, but it's still necessary to have trust between each team, especially since we're going to have to share the pool."

"Yeah.

"And, y'know, I think everybody did excellent yesterday, don't you think so?"

"Of course!"

"What do you think, Nanase-kun?"

Samantha-chan glimpsed at me, gave me a little wink, and then turned to Nanase-kun. I figured that she did that to encourage me, but Nanase-kun's response was not what she expected. He mumbled to himself, which may have seemed inaudible, but I could only pick up, "...shouldn't be allowed in the water..."

I froze in my seat.

"Haru-chan?" asked Makoto-kun.

_He doesn't mean me, does he? Would he bluntly says something like that when he doesn't speak much in the first place?_

But Nanase-kun turned his attention to me. It was a brief moment of silence, yet it took just that to understand what he meant. He was calling me out for my pathetic swimming. He was disgusted.

And it took just that to make me crack.

"I'm sorry I'm so terrible at swimming!" I squeaked, choking back on a sob. "I know I'm not th-that good..."

"Hey, Kasumi-chan! What's wrong?"

Samantha-chan then accused Nanase-kun, "Were you mumbling about her?"

"What-re you talking ab-"

"That's not nice, Nanase-kun! The poor girl tried her hardest yesterday."

"I don't know what yo-"

"Oh, good. Kou-chan! Will you take Kasumi-chan down to the cafeteria?"

The boys' manager entered our classroom with a friend of hers. She stood behind me and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to take Kasumi-chan down myself, but apparently I have to have a talk with the boys. Here," said my friend as she handed yen to Kou-chan, "why not you let her pick something out for lunch? She doesn't have a bento from home."

By then I felt my eyes burn with tears as I stood up and bowed quickly to my classmates. I didn't want to face them with the aggravating shame burning through me. Samantha-chan watched me go with sad eyes.

_I know she wasn't expecting this to happen, but I can't help if I disappoint others. It was coming to me anyway..._

_Oh..it's just as I thought...This is my punishment for earlier...what was that word for it...?_

Kou-chan and her friend walked with me asking about my day, and I tried my hardest to pretend that I was alright. What Nanase-kun said...I couldn't easily forget it. What he did say...I was more finnicky about if he would want me off the team or if he'd not want to talk to me. I never saw him to be that abrasive in his words, but he wasn't wrong. After years of avoiding the ocean and swimming pools, I'd managed to become less successful outside of gym class, and I avoided going to the beach at all costs. It was a miracle that I could tolerate baths every now and then when I mostly preferred showers.

At the cafeteria, I'd managed to smile my way out of being suspicious, but stopped in my tracks when I saw Ella-chan and Nagisa-kun fighting over a certain sandwich at the register. The two with me left to see other friends, saying goodbye and that'd Kou-chan would see me at the pool. I was given Samantha-chan's money, and then left alone in line. I thought that maybe they had noticed our club members as well, and thought it best to walk away before something bad happened. With my friend and fellow teammate, you couldn't tell anymore.

Ella-chan stormed out of line after losing to Nagisa-kun, red-cheeked and frustrated by his sudden victory. She noticed me by myself as she turned away from him and called out to me.

"What's up, Kasumi-chan?" she greeted me at my side.

"Oh,...just hungry...is all..."

"Yeah, well...you better hope to get something good 'cuz pigs like Nagisa-kun are going to take all of it."

"What'd you say, Ella-chan?" Nagisa-kun asked with his mouth full.

"Just when I thought you were gone..."

The two of them bickered as the line moved forward. After I'd bought a plain ham and cheese sandwich, they waited by the door having a closely-heated conversation about how Nagisa-kun had just gotten lucky when they were in line. And it continued as we walked to the pool.

I kept to myself, just listening to their voices enough for me to keep my mind occupied. I was at ease with them until Ella-chan, Nagisa-kun, and I made it to the pool locker entrance where some of their classmates waited outside for Ryuko-san who was supposedly with our club. They asked Ella-chan to bring her out, and for a second it almost sounded like a demand, but Ella-chan didn't take it that way. She easily abided by their wish with Nagisa-kun and I in tow, leaving the three outside for Ryuko-san. Their impression left a bittersweet aftertaste in my mind. The way they acted was a "sickly sweet" that it felt...wrong...But that inkling flew out the door as I was smothered by my anxiousness to see Nanase-kun again. I was scared to hear him say anything else about me.

Thankfully, he didn't acknowledge me at our meeting.

Ryuko-san was talking to our team captains before she left to see her homeroom classmates, and our group discussion was left to idle chat led by Nagisa-kun.

While I was relieved to stand by Samantha-chan and thank her for her kindness, a tiny part of me was hoping to hear Nanase-kun say something to me. Maybe an apology, maybe just a short conversation about the weather. But one thing was for certain: I wanted to be on his good side. I was hoping that he and I would be as good of friends as everyone else was on the team.

* * *

"So, guys," Samantha-chan stated after school, "Makoto-kun and I wanted all of us to meet here to start out with a few simple things. One, that we talk about strengths and weaknesses, two, what we feel that we can do as a team, and three, if there's anything we'd like to do in the near future.

"But, Nagisa-kun recommended that we see Ryugazaki-san at the track. While we're still waiting for his response on joining the team, it would be nice to cheer him on while he's practicing with the track team."

"So," added Makoto-kun, "is there anything that anybody would like to say first?"

Everyone but Ella-chan and our new member Ryuko-san was gathered by the pool. I was besides Kou-chan and Samantha-chan, across from Nanase-kun, with my head low. While he and I were at a fork in the road, it was weird for me to try to pretend like I was okay in front of him. After eating lunch I felt a bit better, but not enough to erase his words words from my mind.

"I wonder if Ella-chan and Michi-chan are going to take long," said Nagisa-kun to himself.

Everyone else turned to one another waiting for someone to speak up.

"Well," said my friend on my left, "I feel that as a team we should be able to establish trust between one another. We don't have to be friends, but it's important to have each other's backs, no matter what.

"Now,...Nanase-kun," Samantha directed to him, changing her tone, "Is there something you'd like to say to Kasumi-chan?...Specifically about something she heard you say before...?"

I looked to Samantha-chan thinking, _Why would you say it out loud like that?, _while the others faced Nanase-kun with puzzled faces.

"Nanase-senpai did something to upset Kasumi-chan, didn't he?" Gou-kun asked. "I thought I heard you all talking about something like that."

"I never said anything like that-" Samantha-chan tried to explain.

"If you like making girls cry, maybe I need to teach you a thing or two!"

Their was a small pause before Kou-chan asked Gou-kun, "What would you do to Nanase-kun?"

Gou-kun blushed as he stammered, "Uh-I...well, I'd-I-I'd-push him into the pool!"

_How aggressive! _I thought.

"Gou-kun, that's more of a pleasure to him than a threat," pointed out my friend.

"Okay...then I'd empty out the pool!"

Nagisa-kun and Makoto-kun gasped, "Eh?!", my two other friends glanced at him with disbelieving expressions, and Nanase-kun stepped up with his fist clutched tightly at his side. Gou-kun quivered back with, "I'm so sorry! I don't actually mean it!"

Samantha-chan sighed before giving in, "Okay, I take it back. I'm just stepping back and letting him say what he needs to say to Kasumi-chan!"

She nudged me closer to Nanase-kun, glanced at him quickly before nodding. Nanase-kun huffed through his nose and looked directly at me. I nervously gulped back my fear as I waited for him to open his mouth.

"What I said earlier," he said quietly," I wasn't saying anything about you. I was thinking about...someone else..."

When he was finished he turned away from me. I wanted to smile and cry at the same time after hearing him say that.

_So he wasn't talking about me. He really is a nice guy..._

The familiar feeling of guilt came back to bite me. I misunderstood Nanase-kun and made him look bad...The only solution was for me to apologize.

"Nanase-kun...?" I replied.

He glanced back at me. I bowed to him and said, "I'm very sorry to have misunderstood you. I've been so self-conscious, and I made you look bad..."

"...Don't worry about it..." he mumbled.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Samantha-chan. "Now that we have that-"

"I'm going to go look for Ella-chan and Michi-chan!" Nagisa-kun announced as he ran for the locker rooms.

"But wait I-"

_Slam._ The door had already closed before she could finish.

"Great..."

She talked to Makoto-kun about what the club had next before going to see Ryugazaki-san while the rest of us stood by. A minute passed before Makoto-kun suggested that we find the others and go to the track field.

In a group we left the pool to collect the missing three, only to find them not too far from us. They crowded the doors outside the locker rooms, having some kind of dispute that involved Nagisa-kun colliding into Makoto-kun. It created a domino effect that stopped at me when I fumbled into Nanase-kun's chest. He braced himself and set me on my feet. Feeling incredibly weak at the knee and hot in the cheeks I apologized over and over to him until he nodded and said, "...It's okay...".

Everyone else in front of me was talking about what the three were doing by the doors. All I could hear was a lot of jumble from Ella-chan before she ran off towards the short-cut to the track field. All of us caught up to her in time, Samantha-chan having to stop her from running into a wall. It seemed like something happened when we weren't there for Ella-chan to be so flustered like that, but she quickly dismissed anything Samantha-chan asked.

The event blew over when we sat on the nearby benches and watched Ryugazaki-san's turn at pole vaulting. My kouhai stood still, eyeing his obstacle for a brief moment then ran right for it. Unlike before when he took his time and made it over the pole, his winging it led him to hit the goal and fall down defeated on the safety mat.

"He fell..." said Makoto-kun, disappointed.

"Huh? He's coming over here," Nagisa-kun breathed.

Ryugazaki-san must have spotted us before-hand. He approached Nanase-kun out of the entire group, standing straight and stiff as a statue.

"I want to be like you, Nanase-senpai."

_This is unexpected..._

Everyone but the two was baffled. Apparently the two had some sort of conversation between themselves, because none of us understood what they were talking about.

"I want that kind of freedom."

"It's not freedom...it's freestyle," Nanase-kun told him.

"Fr-Freestyle..."

_This must be some kind of secret that they share. I can't make any sense of it...What's freestyle?_

Ryugazaki-san adjusted his glasses before addressing the biggest question that all of us shared: Was he going to turn the club down?

"Anyway, I would like to formally-join the swim club!"

He bowed to my classmate in a stiff bow. Our team turned to each other and rejoicing for our good luck. We were relieved to see that our club had enough members to make two teams. We could even sign up for...competitions...

_We don't know if we'll actually sign up for those...No need to panic now._

Other than more happy cheers for our new member and Ryugazaki-san saying something to Ryuko-san, the group started to disband when the sun was starting to set. Ella-chan and Ryuko-san waved to us, then Kou-chan, Gou-kun, Nagisa-kun, and our newest member, until it became a party of four. I thought we'd leave right away since we had our bags and changed out of our indoor shoes, but Samantha-chan pulled me aside to talk with Makoto-kun and Nanase-kun.

"Well, all of us were talking about a few things," my friend began.

She glanced at Makoto-kun, smiled slightly, then continued, "Specifically...we were talking about your confidence in your swimming."

_I don't like where this is going..._

Makoto-kun then addressed me,"We feel that we could help you, if you'd like, with your technique."

"H...How would you do that...?" I asked cautiously.

"Since Nanase-kun is the most experienced, and he promised to do it after that whole mix-up earlier...," answered my friend.

"No, I di-"

"How would you like to pair up with him after school and learn a few tricks to boost your morale, Kasumi-chan?"

I may faint at the worst of times, but when I heard them ask me such a question I had to fight the weak feeling in my body to keep from collapsing.

_I hold the truth from my friends, and I mistake Nanase-kun for something he's not. And I make him look bad. Then this happens._

_I remember that word now. It's 'karma', isn't it?_


	5. The Courage to Be Free

Chapter Five:

"Hey, Kasumi-chan? You still thinkin'?"

My three classmates hovered over me with anticipation curling their lips into serious frowns. I blinked, once, twice, before pressing mine together to keep from giving an impulsive answer.

_They want me to work with Nanase-kun on my swimming. What will he think-what would he say if he saw me swim again...? _I contemplated._...But, he's a part of my team. He's offered to help, and I want to get better. I need to..._

"O-okay..."

"What'd you say there, hon'?"

"I'll do it." I looked up. "I'll take you up on your offer."

To Nanase-kun I bowed and requested, "Please treat me well."

My friend clapped her hands together, smiling as cheerfully as Tachibana-san. Nanase-kun stooped his head to me in response as unemotional as ever. I'd taken a step forward to my goal, but I couldn't help shaking in my shoes. The last time I was in the water I felt like I was drowning. Part of me wanted to be a coward and run away...but I had to try. My teammates, my friends, would be there for me. They wouldn't ask me to do something they knew I couldn't do. They had faith in me. _I don't want to let them down. _

"Awesome," Samantha-chan cheered. "Alright, so, Kasumi-chan, you and Nanase-kun can start after our first practice. How about you two sleep on that for the big day tomorrow?"

"Sounds great," our other captain replied enthusiastically. Nanase-kun nodded with a "Mm-hm" before he followed Tachibana-san home. Samantha-chan and I went a different direction from them. Usually we would've been with them, but my friend thought it best to talk to me in private from the boys. I could tell when she asked me after a few minutes of silence, "You okay? Nervous?"

"I...I guess.." I told her.

"N-aw, don't worry about it. Nanase's a natural when it comes to swimming. I just think it'll take a bit for him to get used to helping someone as cute as you."

I blushed to myself at her compliment. If that were a way to take my mind off of my thoughts then it worked. I felt like I'd never get used to her friendly flattery and that I'd die of embarrassment.

"Maybe he isn't as good with shy girls as any. He always did come off as the 'silent' type, but not as macho."

After a beat of silence she teased with a sing-songy voice, "But you never know. Maybe he l-i-k-e-s yo-ou!"

"I...I'm not.."

My friend stopped. I did the same as I faced her, waiting for a denial or a chide. Instead she smiled so kindly and said, "Don't doubt yourself. When the time comes, you'll find the right guy. He'll see the most beautiful qualities in you that you never saw, and he'll fall in love with you and all of your perks...and your faults..."

She glowered at the ground. I almost thought she'd start to cry, but she didn't. It made me suspect that Samantha-chan had known what it was like to be in love. But I was stupid to ask her that. She told me, "You could say that, but love...probably not," with a sad smile. I should've thought to keep it to myself. There was no denying that Samantha-chan had once had somebody. Being in Japan probably took her away from it all, and so she must've been heartbroken to remember the memories. _I was very wrong to trample on her like that, _I scolded myself.

"But, hey," she started on a much more light-hearted note, "I want you to know that I only want to tease you because I don't want you to stress yourself over doing a great job. You do the best that you can do, and I'll support you every step of the way."

At her corner she spun back to me and added, "Oh, Kasumi-chan?"

"Yes?"

"By the way, I wanted to tell you that you're lucky."

"L-lucky...?"

"Yeah. You get a one-on-one session with a half-naked guy. Not a lot of girls get the chance. So you better not blow your opportunity!"

"W-What?!"

She winked to me with a half-open grin. I couldn't imagine what she was trying to tease me about, but just the thought of Nanase-kun's...ab-

I remembered falling to the ground face-front, but when I woke up Mother told me that Samantha-chan had carried me home after I collapsed. I sat at the dinner table thinking of a better way to thank my friend and apologize at the same time. Sleeping that night made me forget what I had set out to do until I saw her the next morning.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Samantha-chan asked me after our first practice that afternoon. I was standing next to her in the girls' locker room while everyone left, the last one left in a swimsuit. My captain pulled her 'seifuku' shirt over her head before saying, "Remember what I said before? No freaking out."

"I-I understand."

"I won't kid with you about it like the last time, seeing as how I made you react, so-"she sighed, "-good luck. Makoto-kun and I'll be back in about an hour."

"Hai."

She smiled widely, waved, and walked out the door. I quivered in my baby-blue one-piece suit as I readjusted my towel over my shoulders. Lukewarm beads of chlorine water rolled down my neck that hid in my hair. The stiff air in the room simmered with exhales and body heat from earlier, yet I shivered to the cooling draft coming from a dim window. I felt frozen on my feet with daydreams and deep thought. Nanase-kun was still swimming in the pool on the opposite side of the door I had my back to. It was safe in the locker room, as far as one-half of me concluded, and I could retreat inside from facing Nanase-kun, from facing my fate. I had that feeling that sat in the pit of someone's stomach after they rode a roller coaster for the first time, a thrill of anxiety bubbling to churn and died down. It began when I first got into the pool when it was alive, but I was afraid that it'd overtake me again if I went back out there. _A promise is a promise..._So I took a nervous gulp and reached for the door handle.

One breath in, one breath out. The scent of chlorine wafted around me. The anxious churning flared. I shook my head to calm down.

Slowly I walked up the set of stairs to the poolside and watched Nanase-kun swim to the opposite end in a few strokes of the arms. I paused in front of his diving board hugging the two ends of my eggshell-colored towel over my chest. Nanase-kun stood up at the end, just a few inches from me, and shook the water from the ends of his hair. When he opened his eyes he caught me staring, gazing back up at me with the same curiosity. While I was scared to get in again I felt just as terrified to hear what he would start with in our extra practice.

"Are you ready to start?" he asked in his regular quiet tone.

"H-hai."

He nodded. "Dive in."

_Oh, no, not this again..._

I stepped aside to put my towel on the lawn chair Ama-sensei had sitting out from earlier. My heart was beating so loud in my ear once my feet were on the diving board. I tried to ignore it and the gnawing panic in my stomach. If I didn't dive in quickly, then it would take over and I wouldn't be able to move.

"Your feet...," he spoke up, startling me. "You need to point your toes out."

"R-Really..?"

Nanase-kun swam closer, stopping right beneath my board. He directed his index finger at my feet.

"Keep them straight out in front of you."

I positioned them like he told me to, trying my hardest not to shake while doing so.

"Bend over slightly before you jump."

I was mortified but bent my knees anyway, rear end up like an animal.

"Aren't you going to jump?"

Lips crushed together I closed my eyes before pushing off. I became engulfed in familiar cold waters. Unlike the first time that day I settled into my nervous jitter triggered by the water. It was a good sign for me to know that I was progressing with overcoming my childhood fear, especially when I stood up slowly, not panicky at all. I faced Nanase-kun, waiting for him to comment. He blinked, his expression unchanging as ever.

"Am-Am I not good...?"

He paused. "...We should save diving for last."

I had embarrassed myself once again in front of Nanase-kun. He didn't say anything about it, even though it were plain obvious, but I was grateful that he pressed on to the next step.

"How are you with floating since our practice?"

"I..I think I'm okay..."

"Did you get to floating on your back?"

"No..."

"Then we start with that." He said it so directly and straight-forward that I almost didn't believe him. He looked to me to fall back, and I stood beside him, looking to him in confusion. Nanase-kun took that as a sign of ignorance after a moment of silence.

"Lay back."

"U-U-Uw-what?"

He walked behind me and froze.

"Go ahead and fall back."

"Um...o-okay..."

I leaned backward, slipping into the water a little more gracefully than my dive. He stayed at my side to instruct me further. First I he had me take a deep breath and sit perfectly still, then followed through with the backstroke. Nanase-kun's teaching didn't feel intimidating, mostly because I never had much pride in the first place. It sounded like orders from a strict teacher, but his personality meant to be gentle. As Samantha-chan said, he probably doesn't know how to act around girls. I didn't want him to feel conflicted when it came to helping me, but it took a lot for me to get used to him picking at every little detail. There was little encouragement in his voice and he placed himself at my side to fix my posture. I had to remind myself that it was purely business-related for him to put his hands underneath my back and thighs, even though my brain had a hard time registering that.

"Your feet need to be a little more flatter..and you should swing your arms in a bigger circle."

His voice sounded far off with my ears in the water, but I could make out the most of it. I tried again with his advice in mind, and he approvingly nodded at my progress. I was surprised that I was getting better while being insanely nervous with a boy touching me.

"When you start kicking again I'm going to let go."

"W-wait-"

_I don't want to swim out that far!_

"Start."

Reluctantly I began kicking my legs as Nanase-kun had me in tow. After a few steps he let go as promised, sending me off like a boat in a river. He followed behind me, eyeing me carefully as I swam. I could barely make out his figure half-way down the lane with the water surrounding me. The splashing toyed at my anxiety. I stopped at the other end and tried again, thinking that if I kept pushing on I would eventually forget about it.

As I swam back to him I used all of my concentration to block out the bad thoughts swirling around my mind. It snapped at me like a pack of angry dogs waiting for the right time to pounce. Nanase-kun once again surprised me when he swam up to me. I jumped a little, knocking the water around with a splash and opened my mouth to gasp. I stood up quickly as I choked on the bitter taste of chlorine.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I-I'm-*cough*-o-*gag*-kay," I responded.

My gag reflex was itching to take control, so I fought the nauseous urge by closing my mouth, trying to swallow saliva with a dry mouth. It settled a moment or two later. I heaved a sigh to relax my body.

"Thank you..."I breathed to my teammate.

"Do you need a break?"

"I-I'm fine-"

Without thinking I reached back to wave my hand to decline, but flinched when I felt slippery flesh. I spun around-my hand had settled on his abs.

_..."Better not blow your opportunity!"..._My friend's earlier jest echoed in my head.

"I-I'm-so-sorry!" I squeaked.

I bowed in apology to him, but was met with a face dip into pool water. I almost forgot that we were standing in a pool during all of that..that confusion. I gagged as I stood back up. He asked me if I were alright again, but Samantha-chan and Tachibana-kun came to the poolside to check up on us. It didn't feel like an hour had passed us.

"So, how's the progress goin'?" my friend replied with a smile.

"Haru, is everything okay?" the other captain asked when he caught us close together.

"Everything's fine..."

I was the only one jumpy because of what happened. I thought to act like Nanase-kun had, calm and collected, but I was panicking and stood in a ten-foot wide size of my own nightmare-feul. The one solution in mind was to run away and hide.

"Thank you for your help, Nanase-san. I should go if I want to go home on time," I thanked him in a hurry before climbing out of the pool.

It was a brilliant move, but still a cowardice strategy. Samantha-chan caught me in the locker rooms as I was putting on my clothes. She folded her arms and asked, "So,...how'd it go?"

"It...was okay..."

"Well...did you feel like it helped?"

"I...I guess..."

"Aww, Kasumi-chan," she cooed, "did something happen?"

"I-...I don't feel like I can do it..."

"What's the problem?"

_I don't want to make a fool out of myself again...I don't like lying or making up excuses or hiding behind my friend-or-being-touched-or-or-or!..._

I shrugged my shoulders shyly.

"Do you want me to tell Nanase that he doesn't have to tutor you anymore?"

_"No! That's a bad move! If he stops then you'll look like a coward!"_

_"Of course I wanna stop! What am I thinking?! Facing fear head-on won't get me anywhere!" _

_...But I want to move on!..._

Two halves of me were torn a apart in decision. But what I really wanted more than anything else was to be equal to my friends. I didn't want to let my fear get in the way. In the locker room I was just skiddish because of being found close to Nanase-kun. And that's what it was. Just a bunch of leftover anxiety scooping me up and trying to throw me out the back door. I wasn't going to let it get the best of me. I shouldn't have thought to be a coward when I'd already made a promise to myself and friends that I was going to swim with them. And truthfully I did do better with his help.

"You still want to keep going?"

"Y-yes, I do."

_I already made one step forward! I can do it! _I encouraged myself.

She grinned. "That's the spirit."

I tried to smile back and match her enthusiasm, but there was still one little inkling of doubt left in the back of my head.

_I still have a long way to go with diving. Would Nanase-kun be able to help me fix that, even if I thought I was any good at it?_

* * *

There was no school the next day. It was Sunday, so I stayed at home to go through my closet and put away the last of the boxes. Father came home in the evening in time to eat dinner, and I finished the last of my homework in my room, read old manga, and went to bed.

I'd prepared for practice the following Monday since that morning, regardless of my usual reaction to break out in a panic attack before leaving the locker room. I became better at practice with my friends and my session with Nanase-kun following suit. He helped me perfect my backstroke and my front crawl in a matter of two days. By then I was used to his touch and his tone, but after all of that he wanted to focus on my dive. I retreated to my stuttering and shy demeanor as I fought to keep a straight-face on so I could actually dive. Only one time I fumbled and after that I lost the courage to do it. My teammate was lost in thought as he tried to come up with a different approach.

Friday came, but it poured rain on us throughout the entire day. None of us on the team could practice, so instead our captains suggested that we discuss Ryugazaki-kun's issue at Nanase-kun's house. I tagged along with my friends, though Ryuko-san couldn't come because of her ride.

While everyone else had a heated debate about Ryugazaki-kun's swimming, our teammate stood up in protest saying that he needed a proper coach. I didn't understand their response; they called for pizza delivery. It wasn't until I saw the delivery man that I knew what they were getting at. I vaguely remembered his colorful hair so many years back at the old swim school, fists to his hips and a practical thumbs-up to the kids he taught. His bellowing voice had echoed outside from the pool room as I followed Nanami to the school yard when we were kids. Once in a while she'd go there to see her friend. She wanted to sign up for lessons, but her mother didn't have the time to write her signature on the proper papers; mine didn't have the time to take me. After a while she figured she'd just wait outside for her friend with red hair to leave...I had a feeling that the only reason she wanted to go was to see that boy. _But what was his name...?_

The delivery man, Coach Sasabe, as they called him, glanced at me for a quick second after turning down our teammate's offer to coach Ryugazaki-kun. Then all of a sudden he asked me, "Were you one of my students like those boys?"

"N-no...I'm sorry...I don't-don't think..so..."

He scratched his chin...then snapped his fingers.

"I got it!" he exclaimed. "You were the little shy girl who waited outside with that sassy little one for Matsuoka!"

"Huh? You remember Kasumi-chan?" Hazuki-kun yipped.

"Uh...yeah," the coach grumbled. "Her friend with the pink ponytail used to wait for Matsuoka while you kids were swimming. She didn't realize that the lobby had benches until I caught them practically sitting on the doorstep one day. Now...what was her name again?"

"Na...Nanami..." I answered.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"So Kasumi-chan did used to know 'Nii'?" asked Kou-chan.

"I..I'm not sure...I don't remember...a lot about Iwatobi when I was..younger...Besides, Nanami-chan..knew him better..."

"Just imagine: Kasumi-chan could've gone to swim school with us!" figured Hazuki-kun. "We could've known each other before."

"It's a shame," Tachibana-kun sighed.

"Wait!" Ella-chan demanded. "Who's 'Nanami'? I never met her when I visited you."

"You were here too, Ella-chan?" our blond-haired teammate quipped.

"Only for a little bit."

"Then that means I saw you way back when, Ella-chan," added Gou-kun.

"As if! I hung out with Kasumi-chan for three days. The last day she didn't go to the beach with me and I ended up being harassed by this little red-headed brat-"

She spun at Minami-kun. He smiled sheepishly.

"You!"

"So...you're still mad about me tugging on your swimsuit?"

"_I'll give you a right-good decking for all the-_"

"_Alright, alright, we get you're still upset,_" countered Samantha-chan in English, switching back to Japanese, "but we need to skip the reunion for now. Coach Sasabe needs to give us advice for helping Ryugazaki-kun.

All of that talk about knowing each other as kids had my head spinning out of control. Because I couldn't remember a lot about my childhood in Iwatobi to say for sure who was who, I was happy that Samantha-chan changed the topic of discussion. She could've seen my flabbergast on my face when everyone started throwing in their say, but she was always observant of others. She was considerate like that to get everyone to focus on something else.

The rest of the group turned to Sasabe-san before he left. All but Nanase-kun. I caught him staring at me, or better said, staring right through me as if he almost recognized me from somewhere.

* * *

"So, what do you guys think?" Ella-chan asked from her changing booth. "Is it too tight around the butt or-hey, Minami, I saw that! _Put that bloody phone away before I come over there and shove it up your-_"

"Hey, Ella, let's not be so harsh, okay?" Samantha-chan opened her curtain to reveal a two-piece matching swimsuit to Ella-chan's, except for the red accented lines on orange material on Samantha-chan. Ella wore one with green and blue.

It was a Sunday afternoon at the mall. All of us agreed to go after a final conclusion from Ryugazaki-kun that his problem was his swimsuit. The team took the train to the closest mall where we window-shopped for sports stuff. Oddly enough there was a swimming goods store there. The boys and girls split up to their appropriate sides of the store to look at suits. I was the only one sitting on the bench by the changing rooms as the rest tried on different pieces. I wasn't in the mood to try on anything...I was still upset about my poor diving skills.

"Should I go for two-piece or one-piece*? I can't decide," sighed my captain.

"Can I give just a littl-"Minami-kun tried to say.

Ella-chan told him, "No. I don't take advice from drooling messes."

"Maybe he should say it. It looks like he's suffering enough. Look at him twitch...Is he turning a different color?"

"It's more like a creepy nervous tic."

"Ryuko-san, will you help me out over here?"

Her curtain flew open, revealing our teammate in a black and purple striped one-piece. She peeked over the corner to our friends on her right.

"I don't see any issue in it, should he have a perfectly logical and pure purpose."

"But this is Minami we're talkin' about!" argued Ella-chan.

Samantha cut in, "I'm takin' that as a two-to-one vote in favor for him. Have at it, skipper."

In a flurry of rapid movement, Minami-kun suddenly sprang into action. One moment I saw him grabbing multiple hangers of swimwear from one rack, another from the other end, then he appeared back in his original spot holding different sets of colored suits.

"For Ella-chan I recommend this yellow-and-black two piece a part of this moderately-priced yet exclusive collection from this chain store. The straps are thin and the bottom part is more like a pair of boxer shorts for your tomboyish figure. It won't weigh you down and orange is a better color for your skin. Too much of that or yellow would make you look like a banana, or worse-jaundice. So the black fixes that problem.

"And for the others the same line as mentioned. Samantha-chan, a springtime green and black two-piece with a bikini bottom and thicker straps for the upper half. It's not as tight as a bra strap but it'll hold firm. The green brings out the color of your eyes but will also blend the look of your curves. Too much curve will make you look like a poorly-drawn anime character.

"Ryuko-san, a one-piece with thin straps that curve over the neck to show off your shoulders, but also to give a little space to move around in. The lavender on the stomach is thin material, almost like netting, which shows a little skin yet keeps the modesty. And the black over the hips makes you look more curvy.

"And for Kasumi-chan, a one piece with a V-neck and open back that teases with your small bust but sits snug on your chest so water doesn't sink you down. The baby blue is more or less a flattering color for you. It's cute and moe, but the black around the bottom, stomach, and back balance out the seriousness and playfulness," he explained in two to three breaths.

All of us were shocked. We were stiff on our feet, nearly breathless for words like he was. He handed our swimsuits first before reaching into his bag on a bench and chugged the entire contents of his water bottle.

_Oh...my...-_

"_-God...Hon', I don't know whether to kiss ya' or slap ya',_" Samantha-chan gasped in English.

Ella-chan shook her head. "_Sam, pinch me. I think I'm dreaming. I just imagined Minami saying something amazingly brilliant yet creepy."_

"_Ella, he did just say something smart!" _

"I'll vouch for that," Ryuko-san added as she shut the curtain to her booth. She came back out a half-minute later in the swimsuit Minami-kun picked out for her. "It's exactly as he said. And it's just the right size."

My teammates peeled the other swimsuits off their bodies behind their curtains, and stepped out to look at themselves in the stand-up mirror.

"_Sweet baby Jesus, I look fantastic!" _giggled my captain.

She twirled around in the mirror as she asked, "Minami-kun, how'd you know so much about swimsuits?"

"Well, what you guys call 'creepy' I call a 'future'. My dream is to become a designer for swimwear, so I've studied a lot in my free time.

"Now, can you turn this way so I can take a pi-"

My blond-headed friend sneered at him, "Just when I thought you could redeem yourself."

He put away his phone as he muttered an apology. Ryuko-san glanced over herself as Samantha-chan insisted that I try my swimsuit on. When everyone else chipped in, I got into an open booth and changed. They smiled and gave me compliments as I stepped out. In the mirror I looked at my figure. I could see the playfulness with the baby blue, but I felt too immodest to walk around in a swimsuit while a guy was studying me.

"The v-neck does give you a bigger chest." Samantha-chan walked around me to get a better look. "Oh, but you look so cute!"

She jumped giddily like a puppy as she took me by the hands, wanting me to join in. Ella-chan and Ryuko-san peered over our shoulders and warned us, "The boys are coming this way."

_I can't let the others see me like this! _

I hid behind my friend as Hazuki-kun was the first to catch us in swimwear. He grinned, mouth opened, and waved for the others to hurry.

"Don't they look cute?"

Ella-chan pouted her lips frustratedly. "Don't encourage our manager."

"You all do look very good," complimented Tachibana-kun.

"Thanks," Samantha-chan replied, "it's all because of Minami-kun. He's the genius behind all of this."

"Really?" piped in Matsuoka-chan.

The only boys silent were Ryugazaki-kun and Nanase-kun. Our bespectacled teammate readjusted his glasses, face a bit flushed, and the other had his eyes specifically on me. Nanase-kun seemed to want to say something to me with a certain twinkled I spotted in his eye, but he suddenly tilted his head in the other direction, focusing on his teammates as if he were just passing his gaze over me. I decided not to think too much about it. _Nanase-kun usually does more looking than talking, anyway...It's not like he thinks much of my swimsuit..._

When it was time to go my team coaxed me into buying the swimsuit Minami-kun picked out for me. I didn't think I could afford it with my allowance in my pocket, but after a lot of debate Samantha-chan offered to give me the rest of hers to pay for it. Ella-chan was the one who stamped her foot in between us and demanded that I "give up being polite for once and buy something awesome for myself", so I wasn't allowed to argue anymore. I let my friend help pay for it at the register while the others waited at the door.

We made it to the train station on time to get home before the sunset. I stood by my friends listening to the conversation, smiling and laughing with them all while trying to act indifferent next to Nanase-kun. Since my last effort to dive during our sessions he kept to himself much more than usual. It made it so easy to think that he were disappointed in me, and when I buckled under the pressure...

_I'm so pathetic..._I thought as I tried to peek up at him. Unluckily for me I could get away with that. He caught me just as he turned his head, and so I rushed to look away as if somebody called my name.

There came a sudden rush of air on my cheek, and then I heard his voice whisper in my ear, "Meet me by the stairs at my house. There's something I need to show you."

"When we..get off?" I asked in the same hushed tone.

"Yes...Here's our stop."

He bent upward as the train halted to a stop. There was a stall, making him reach over to the empty handle next to mine to brace himself. A finger of his was very close to the side of my hand. My heart raced for the sudden surprise, but also because of his breath on my face when he whispered to me. It made me jittery until I got home.

"Kasumi-chan, did you get something from the mall you and your friends went to?" my mother poked at me as I took my shoes off by the door.

"Uh-huh. It's-It's a swimsuit."

"Reee-ally? But I thought you didn't like to swim."

"I joined the swim club," I explained, even though I thought I repeated it before sometime during the last week, "so I had to find something that was more...more sportsy."

"Well, okay."

She walked with me to the staircase as I mentioned, "I need to drop this off in my room. One of my...friends close by wants to meet with me."

"Is it your friend Samantha-chan? She's been very nice to you these past few weeks."

"It's another teammate. I think it's something homework related!" I called from the top step.

I plopped the plastic bag behind my desk and hurried back down the stairs. Mother warned me not to stay out past sunset as I tucked my feet into my beige slippers from before. Promising to be safe I shut the door and faced the street, heading to the large outdoor staircase Nanase-kun was waiting by.

As I walked down the street I thought about what he wanted to talk about. _Maybe he wants to invite me to his house or out to eat..._If that were the case, I should've changed out of my favorite light, honey beige cardigan with cable knitting at the bottom and an old fading gray skirt that still fit. The outfit was more for casual wear, but if he wanted to go somewhere more formal...

_No,no,no! What am I thinking? He wouldn't do that! Nanase-kun doesn't think of me any more than a fellow club member..._

But that begged the question: Where did he want to take me?

I rounded the corner, turning slowly to find Nanase-kun sitting on a lower stoop, knees outward and shoulders drooping. He had put on a different jacket since we last saw each other over his white tank top, but that was the only change he'd made. I reprimanded myself for trying to assume that he wanted to take me some place nice.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I nodded, shying away to the sound of his voice.

"Okay. Then follow me."

He took the lead, walked me up the street the staircase connected to. While he was preoccupied with that I tried to study his expression to see if anything could be given away. His clear blue eyes flickered towards different street signs, and his lips remained closed. Every once in a while he'd open them partially when he lead me down another path, but it was more or less a habit of his than a clue.

I was about to give up when I noticed a familiar sign past the town shrine.

_Uradome*? What are we doing here?_

Before the turn he stopped.

"Close your eyes."

"W-What?"

"What I wanted to show you is close by."

"H-how am I...?"

"Grab hold of my jacket if you need to."

"I-I-"

I panicked, but decided to risk it for his sake. It could've been a Titan* around the corner and I would be gullible enough to believe it something different from someone else's word. But to grab the back of his jacket as he led me to his goal was too trusting of me. There was no explanation...the reason that came to mind was because of how he said it...made me trust him.

Another pause. Then he commanded, "Take off your shoes."

"M-my...shoes?!"

"It'll get dirty where we're stepping."

I felt the pull of his jacket. He bent over and then I heard the clattering of his sneakers hit the sidewalk.

"Nanase-san...what's-what's going on?"

I took off my slippers and laid them neatly to the side.

"What's your biggest fear?"

_Where is this going? I don't like this..._

"Fear...?"

"Yes."

_I'm not sure if this is the right time to be honest..._

"I-...I can't...say."

"It has something to do with the water, doesn't it?"

_Oh my God! Please, please don't say it!_

I pressed my lips together, feeling queasy and terrified. My heart drummed erratically in my ears.

"Please..." I begged him, practically whining, "I...I don't want to talk about it..."

"Do you want to fight it?"

"Fight my fear? How could I do that?"

There was a tiny bubble of thought that danced around in my head. _Maybe he could help me if he knew the issue. But...what if he was wrong? What if I couldn't be helped?_ Reality struck me even harder. I was shaking and on the edge trying to hold back tears, but I listened to his every word.

"Come closer."

I trudged towards the sound of his voice out of sheer whim and nearly stumbled at the end. He didn't tell me I was walking down very slim stairs.

There was a sensation on my wrists. It coiled around them tighter and guided me down the rest of the steps. I recognized it as his hands when I brushed the familiar fabric of his jacket with my fingertips. My cheeks grew hot when my imagination flamed though my mind. The panic attack from a few days ago came back with a vengeance.

"Stay silent...and listen."

At first I focused my blinded attention on what my bare feet were touching. There was...grainy, lukewarm ground seeping in between my toes-

_It can't be! It's sand! We're at the Uradome Beach!_

"Nanase-san, I can't!" I tugged on his sleeves, halting to a stop. He kept pushing forward, telling me, "Trust me...and listen."

I did listen, and I didn't like it. The sound of the ocean was tottering closer and closer to me, and the sand was getting damper underneath my feet. The fear, the panic burrowed a hole into my body. I became a wreck, a ticking time bomb ready to explode. A tear, then many more slipped through my shut eyelids as I nervously bit and pressed my lips together to hold back a sob.

Water lapped onto my toes. I shook. I didn't want to move any further.

"Nanase-san, I'm-I-I'm scared...please...!"

"You can open your eyes."

They flew open without waiting for him to finish. Nanase-kun left, and the ocean took his place. The waters sparkled sunlight off the the yellow-burnt-orange orb about to be swallowed by endless tide. Tears dripped off my cheeks as I tried to gather my thoughts. Without my teammate I would've collapsed or broke down. I called out his name in a warbled, sob-choaked voice.

"I'm here."

I tried to turn around, but he held my shoulders down like he wanted me to stay right in my spot.

"I can't do this."

"It's going to be okay."

His voice echoed inside my head. '_It's going to be okay' _was the only thing in my mind, melting away the fear. I felt light like a feather, gliding through the water instead of wading. My ankles were deep in when he stopped me.

"How do you feel?"

"Really...different..."

I exhaled. "Is this what the beach is like?"

"What?"

"I...haven't seen this kind of view...in a long...time..."

He paused. "Is this what you were really afraid of?"

"It was..pathetic, wasn't it?...Being afraid of the ocean..."

"You can't underestimate the water." He let go of me to join me at my side.

"Can I...tell you something?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the water.

"You're right...you make it sound like...like the water is...alive. But, I believe you. Ever since I was a kid...I was scared...Ever since that day...

"The water has a mind of its own...I just...don't know what I did wrong.

"But I made a promise. I joined the team, and now...I have to face my fear..."

For the first time in forever*, I smiled as I bent down to cup the water in my hands. The ocean lulled in my ears like a beautiful tune. I didn't feel afraid to stand in it. The panic was gone..._Oh my gosh, the fear is gone!_

I grinned at Nanase-kun, a burst of confidence swarming over me. The new sensation inside made me feel like I was on top of the world, something I'd never felt before. Nanase-kun gaped at me, unable to react the same way.

"Misuzu...-chan..," he murmured.

I glanced up, confused and surprised that he used my name for once.

It was like a scene out of a TV drama. He came closer, leaned in slightly, and asked me, "Did I...know you...befo-"

And then to the side someone hollered, "Is that you, Kasumi-chan?"

Our two captains were on the sidewalk gazing curiously at us.

"Haru, what are you doing in the water?" Tachibana called out.

"Showing Misuzu-chan something," he answered in a quieter exclamation.

"Aren't you two cold? You know the sun's almost gone?" my friend informed us.

I gasped. The sun **was **disappearing and my mother would've been upset if I came home any later.

"Oh no!"

I darted towards the shore-I nearly fell forward. Nanase-kun caught me in time but I couldn't budge.

"What's wrong?"

"My feet sunk into the sand," I told him.

He easily plucked me from the muddy sand like a vegetable from a garden. I stiffened in his grasp, hands on my waist as he carried me to the shoreline. The others watched, puzzled looks on their faces that matched mine.

I was set down, then I politely dipped my head in gratitude before stepping into my shoes.

"Alright, let's head..on back," my captain ushered.

She paced herself with me while the boys walked ahead. I could faintly catch the conversation between them: Tachibana-kun warning Nanase-kun about treating girls more carefully. Samantha-chan asked if I were okay.

"I'm fine...Actually, I'm better than ever."

I peeked back at the beach one last time. I smiled, the second smile I was bale to give it after so long of hiding from it.

I wasn't scared anymore!

* * *

The next day Nanase-kun worked with me to perfect my dive. Tuesday we showed off the result to our teammates after Ryugazaki-kun's sudden improvement in the pool. According to him, he had an interesting talk with a teammate that helped him find his calling. His target stroke was the butterfly, even if he had an expression that said "I have a long way to go".

Ella-chan teased sarcastically, "Well, this is a different kind of birthday present than I expected...A card would've been good too."

_"Oh, hush up, you!" _our captain huffed. "_You know I woulda' bought you somethin' if I knew it was your birthday today_!"

"_Sure, but I've been drooping hints like a dog does on someone's yard."_

Samantha-chan rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well, anywho," she went on, "since the boys seem to know who's swimming what, and since we've been doing well practicing, I wanted to know which one of you calls dibs on which stroke. For the road ahead there's the freestyle, back, breast, and butterfly."

"Yeah, well, I lost a damn bet to Hazuki, so I'm signing up for breaststroke," Ella-chan called first.

Then Ryuko-san. "I believe in order to hone my arm strength I'd specialize in the butterfly."

Samantha-chan smiled at me. "Well, it's all down to us. What do you wanna do?"

"I-"

It was hard to decide between the two. I was much more accustomed to the front crawl, but the backstroke was the easiest for beginners, or as far as Tachibana-kun had told us. The boys' team took a minute to catch up with ours as we were talking about swimming. Their captain suggested that I take it easy with my progress, but then Minami-kun threw in, "I know that your swimsuit can withstand a lot, despite the open back and bare shoulders, so you should gun it and go for freestyle. Your skinny, tiny figure would also help with your speed."

"I swear I'm never gonna get used to hearing him speak like that," I heard Ella-chan tell Ryuko-san.

"I'll go with whatever you decide, like I promised," replied my other friend.

_What do I wanna go for? Do it the easy way or push myself further?_

"I-I wanna do..."

Everyone gathered closer to me for some kind of dramatic effect. Even our teacher drew forward to listen in.

"Freestyle..!"

"That's that then!" laughed Samantha-chan. "Looks like I'll be doin' the backstroke."

"Wow," breathed Tachibana-kun, "it's very admirable that you want to take another leap in your progress, Misuzu-chan."

"Oh...I dunno..but, thank you, Tachibana-kun."

"Awesome, Kasumi-chan!" Hazuki-kun chuckled. "You'll be swimming the same thing as Haru-chan!"

Others gave me words of encouragement before we went back to our separate practices. Since the other day at the beach I was able to feel more alive, more open and at peace when swimming, but jittery still when it came to talking to Nanase-kun outside the pool. I walked up to him after the day ended and the others were changing in the locker room, the two of us the last people outside. He swam back to the diving boards as I waited by his.

I was the first to speak.

"Umm...Nanase-kun..?"

He looked up, shaking his hair out like he'd usually do.

"Na-ni (_what)_?"

"Well...since both of us are freestyle swimmers...do you think you could help me...like you did this past week?"

"...Why did you choose freestyle?"

Being near him for so long made me nervous, but I trusted him more than feared him, so I had a feeling he wouldn't answer my question right away.

"At the beach...I felt something really amazing. I want to experience that again...I want to be free. And...I want to be happy being free. So, if that means pushing myself over the limit, then I'll do it."

He solemnly blinked at me with the same uninterested look on his face, but a tiny spark of hope twinkled in his eyes.

"Is...that a no, then?" I replied.

It seemed like he wouldn't answer. I backed away from the question, defeated, but he soon replied, "Are you available now?"

" 'Available'?"

"You don't have to go home right away? We could start practicing now."

I nearly bounced on my feet.

"I've got plenty of time!"

With a swoop of my arms, I leaped off of the closest board and dove into the pool. I made a giant splash, reflecting exactly how I felt at that moment: powerful, soaring, and excited.

_I'm closer to freedom more than I could ever imagine! _

* * *

_Let's take a look at the Easter eggs we found today!_

_*"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!_

_*Actually that one wasn't an egg. That was just a reference to an actual beach from the town Iwato that was used in the anime. It's just in case you guys wanna look it up later for clarification..._

_*hums opening of AoT_

_*For the first time in forever, there was a Frozen reference made!_


End file.
